Question

What is the Lewis structure of ozone (`O_3`)?

Answer 1

The typical Lewis structure of ozone depicts formal charge separation.......

Explanation:

Simple VESPER requires that we distribute `3xx6=18` `"valence electrons"` across 3 centres:

`O=O^(+)-O^(-)`

From the left, `O_1`, has TWO lone pairs; `O_2` has ONE lone pairs; and `O_3` has THREE lone pairs. And thus the formal charge of each oxygen atom (`8e^-,7e^-,9e^-`) is `0,+1, -1` respectively.

Because there are THREE regions of electron density around the central oxygen atom, the `/_O-O-O=120^@` to a first approx., and `117^@` by actual measurement.