Answer to Question #214745 in Inorganic Chemistry for Shreya

Question

Analyse the symmetry elements possessed by carbonate and hydronium ions. List the symmetry elements that both ions have in common.

Answer 1

A symmetry operation is an action that leaves an object looking the same after it has been carried out. For example, if we take a molecule of water and rotate it by 180° about an axis passing through the central O atom (between the two H atoms) it will look the same as before.