In introductory chemistry, you were taught about charges, as in the ionic charge
ID: 940633 • Letter: I
Question
In introductory chemistry, you were taught about charges, as in the ionic charges in a compound like MgCl_2. In many cases, charges and oxidation numbers are similar, if not the same this is the case for the atoms in MgCl_2. That said, for organic molecules, charges and oxidation numbers can be and usually are very different. Explain why atom/ion charges and oxidation number are essentially the same for MgCl_2 while they are very different for something like methane, and the assumptions that are made when discussing each. Be sure to support your claims.Explanation / Answer
Let we discuss in terms of oxidation number for better understanding,
in MgCl2 the molecue is splitted to Mg2+ and Cl2- where the electron transfer between the molecules are equal.
but in CH4 the charges are reduced w.r.t H of 1, for example 4H reduces the C charge to (- 4).
From the above it is clear that CH4 are influenced by H atoms, so it gets different from MgCl2 as where the ransfer is uniform.