Part A Drawing Resonance Structures

We have encountered many -1 anions in this course HO, Cl , (CH3)2N, HCO3, etc. 

If you go to the stockroom you will not find a bottle of HO (hydroxide) on the shelf because every anion must exist in close proximity to a counterion, an ion that balances out the charge. 

In this book we will generally assume that positive counterions are inert and that their only function is to balance the negative charge of the anion. 

Also assume that all ions appearing in this book have a counterion, even if one is not specified. 

If ions in a sample did not have counterions, electrical charge would build up, and the sample wouldfind a way to ground itself. For example ion flow across a salt bridge in a battery, or lightning—the result of ion imbalance in a cloud. 

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