Draw the best lewis structure for h 2 co 3 and calculate the formal charge on carbon.

The Lewis structure of Carbonic Acid (H₂CO₃) is given below. In structure it is shown that carbon has a double bond with one oxygen atom and two single bonds with hydroxyl groups.

Formal Charge;

Formal charge is caculated as,

Formal charge = # of valence e⁻ - [# of lone pair of e⁻ + 1/2 # of bonded e⁻]

Formal charge on Carbon;

Formal charge = 4 - [ 0 + 8/2]

Formal charge = 4 - [4]

Formal charge = Zero