To calculate the formal charge on the central sulfur atom in the sulfate ion SO , we can use the following formula:Formal charge = valence electrons - non-bonding electrons - 0.5 * bonding electrons In the sulfate ion, the sulfur atom is surrounded by four oxygen atoms, and each sulfur-oxygen bond is a double bond. Sulfur belongs to group 6A in the periodic table, so it has 6 valence electrons.Since sulfur forms double bonds with each of the four oxygen atoms, it has no non-bonding electrons. Each double bond consists of 2 bonding electrons, and there are 4 double bonds, so there are a total of 8 bonding electrons.Now, we can plug these values into the formula:Formal charge = 6 - 0 - 0.5 * 8 Formal charge = 6 - 0 - 4Formal charge = +2The formal charge on the central sulfur atom in the sulfate ion SO is +2.