Final answer:
The real charge and formal charge for the ammonium ion (NH4) are both +1. The real charge reflects the ion's overall charge and the formal charge is calculated by adding up the formal charges of the individual nitrogen and hydrogen atoms, which also results in +1.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asked about the real charge versus the formal charge for NH4+, which is the ammonium ion. In the case of ammonium ion, every hydrogen atom has a formal charge of zero since they have the same number of electrons as neutral hydrogen atoms. The nitrogen is typically assigned a formal charge in the Lewis structure; in this ion, that would be a +1. Therefore, adding the formal charges together for NH4+, which includes one nitrogen and four hydrogens, would yield 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 = +1.
The answer to the student's question is that the real charge is +1, which reflects the overall charge of the ion, and the formal charge is also overall +1 when the formal charges of individual atoms are summed up.
Answer to the question:
What is the real charge vs formal charge on NH4?
D) Real charge = +1, Formal charge = +1