The hypochlorite ion, ClO⁻, is drawn with a single Cl-O bond, three lone pairs on chlorine, and three lone pairs on oxygen. What is the formal charge on chlorine?

Core Concept

Formal charge equals valence electrons minus nonbonding electrons minus half the bonding electrons. Chlorine starts with 7, keeps 6 as lone-pair electrons, and claims half of the shared pair: 7 − 6 − 1 = 0. Oxygen computes 6 − 6 − 1 = −1, so oxygen carries the whole ion charge. The formal charges sum to −1, matching the ion.