SCH4U Guidelines for drawing Lewis dot structures.

Lewis structures are used to represent the valence electrons involved in forming a chemical compound. Rule 1: Every atom should get 8 electrons in any chemical compound. This is known as octet rule. The following elements do not obey the octet rule and their octet values are as follows: H-2 He-2 Li-4 Be-4 B-6

Some compounds form double and triple bonds. An extra pair of electrons can be shared between the central atom and side atom to form double bond, and 2 pairs to form a triple bond. Step method to draw lewis structures. ( eg. NH3) Step 1: Find valence e- in all atoms. Add them together. N-5 H-1x3=3 Total=8 Step2: Find octet e- for each atom and add them together. N-8 H-2x3=6 Total=14 Step3: Gives you bonding e-. Subtract step 1 total from step 2 14-8=6eStep 4: Find number of bonds by diving the number in step 3 by 2(because each bond is made of 2 e-) 6e-/2= 3 bonds Step 5: Find the number of nonbonding (lone pairs) e-. Subtract step 3 number from step 1. 8-6= 2eUse information from step 4 and 5 to draw the lewis structure.

Put atom with lowest electro negativity in the center. Arrange the remaining atoms around it. Finally put the bonds and electrons on them.

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