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What is the formal charge of the central atom in the compound SF4 (sulfur tetrafluoride)? Show your calculation and explain whether the molecule is overall neutral or has a partial charge.

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To calculate the formal charge of the central atom  sulfur  in SF4, we need to follow these steps:1. Determine the number of valence electrons for sulfur  S . Sulfur is in group 16, so it has 6 valence electrons.2. Calculate the number of bonding electrons. In SF4, there are 4 single bonds between sulfur and fluorine, so there are 4 x 2 = 8 bonding electrons.3. Calculate the number of non-bonding electrons. Subtract the number of bonding electrons from the total valence electrons: 6  valence electrons  - 8  bonding electrons  = -2 non-bonding electrons.4. Calculate the formal charge. The formula for formal charge is: Formal Charge = Valence Electrons -  Non-bonding Electrons + 1/2 Bonding Electrons . In this case, Formal Charge = 6 -  -2 + 1/2 * 8  = 6 -  0  = 0.The formal charge of the central atom  sulfur  in SF4 is 0.Now, let's check if the molecule is overall neutral or has a partial charge. Fluorine has 7 valence electrons, and each fluorine atom forms a single bond with sulfur. So, the formal charge on each fluorine atom is:Formal Charge = Valence Electrons -  Non-bonding Electrons + 1/2 Bonding Electrons Formal Charge = 7 -  6 + 1/2 * 2  = 7 - 7 = 0Each fluorine atom has a formal charge of 0. Since there are 4 fluorine atoms and the sulfur atom also has a formal charge of 0, the overall charge of the SF4 molecule is 0. Therefore, the molecule is overall neutral.
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