Marvin JS Drawing Modes

Whether you are using Marvin JS to display chemical structures and reactions or to have your students draw them, you need to select the correct drawing mode for your drawing.

Note Depending on the drawing mode, Marvin JS treats hydrogen atoms as either explicit or implicit.
  • Explicit means that all hydrogens must be added to the drawing manually.
  • Implicit means that the correct number of hydrogens are automatically assumed to be present. You and your students can still add hydrogens explicitly.

Drawing modes with implicit hydrogens grade implicit and explicit hydrogens as equivalent.

The following table describes the Marvin JS drawing modes that are available in WebAssign:

Drawing Mode Display Hydrogens Atom Labels Usage / Notes
Complete
molecular structure drawing
Explicit All atoms

Draw the entire molecular structure, including hydrogens.

Condensed
molecular structure drawing
Implicit All atoms

Especially for organic chemistry, draw the molecular structure except for hydrogens.

Lewis
Lewis structure drawing
Explicit All atoms

Draw Lewis structures.

  • Lone pairs and radicals: explicit, displayed
  • Formal atomic charges: explicit, displayed
Mechanism
reaction mechanism drawing
Explicit All atoms

Draw reaction mechanisms showing the movement of electrons.

  • Lone pairs and radicals: explicit, displayed
  • Formal atomic charges: explicit, displayed

Questions using this mode should provide a template for students to modify.

Mechanism Advanced
molecular structure drawing
Implicit

H: only for heteroatoms

C: no

Other atoms: yes

Draw reaction mechanisms showing the movement of electrons.

Questions using this mode should provide a template for students to modify.

Reaction
chemical reaction drawing
Implicit All atoms

Draw chemical reactions.

Displays molecules like condensed mode, but lets you add a reaction arrow and + signs among the reactants and the products.

Reaction Advanced
molecular structure drawing
Implicit

H: only for heteroatoms

C: no

Other atoms: yes

Draw chemical reactions.

Displays molecules like condensed mode, but lets you add a reaction arrow and + signs among the reactants and the products.

Resonance
resonance structure drawing
Explicit All atoms

Draw resonance structures.

  • Lone pairs and radicals: explicit, displayed
  • Formal atomic charges: explicit, displayed

Questions using this mode should provide a template for students to modify.

Skeleton
molecular structure drawing
Implicit

H: only for heteroatoms

C: no

Other atoms: yes

Draw complex organic molecules.

Skeleton Advanced
molecular structure drawing
Implicit

H: only for heteroatoms

C: no

Other atoms: yes

Draw complex organic molecules.

Spacefill
space-fill illustration of a molecule
Explicit None

Can be rotated in three dimensions.

3D
ball-and-stick illustration of a molecule
Explicit None

Can be rotated in three dimensions.

Advanced Modes

Use the three advanced modes to show additional tools for your students in higher-level chemistry courses.