Review: Drawing Dot Structures

(Things to consider when drawing your dot structures)

1. Elements that will ALWAYS have 8 electrons and only 8

a. Carbon
b. Oxygen
c. Fluorine
d. Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine (as ligands)

2. Hydrogen will ALWAYS have 2 electrons and only 2

3. Nitrogen will for the most part have 8…only has 7 in NO2

4. Boron will sometimes have 6….any compound BX3…Boron will have 6 electrons (3 single bonds)

5. Any element in Row 3 (energy level 3) or higher (or lower on PT) must have 8…but are allowed to
have an “expanded” octet. (THEY CAN HAVE MORE THAN 8)

Reasoning: Let’s think about sulfur. Sulfur is allowed to have more than 8 electrons because
it has the empty 3d orbitals to expand into. The 3d orbitals provide extra orbtials where
bonding can occur.

Why can’t oxygen exceed 8 electrons? It is in energy level 2. There are no 2d orbitals to
expand into.

VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) Theory Shapes (Focus on Central Atom)

Example Bonding Domains Lone Pairs Shape Total e- Domains Hybridization

HCN 2 0 Linear 2 sp
SO3 3 0 Trigonal Planar 3 sp2
NF3 3 1 Trigonal Pyramidal 4 sp3
CF4 4 0 Tetrahedral 4 sp3
H2O 2 2 Bent 4 sp3
PI5 5 0 Trigonal Bipyramidal 5 sp3d
ICl3 3 2 T-shape 5 sp3d
SeF4 4 1 See-Saw 5 sp3d
XeCl4 4 2 Square Planar 6 sp3d2
SI6 6 0 Octahedral 6 sp3d2
ICl5 5 1 Square Pyramidal 6 sp3d2
 Steps for Drawing Any Dot Structure
1. Count total dots that should be in the structure (Valence Electrons = dots!!)

Example: SF4 has 34 dots (6 for the sulfur and 7 for each fluorine)

2. Determine the central atom (usually the first atom written in the formula)
a. Hydrogen can NEVER be the central atom!
b. The central atom is always the lowest in electronegativity (first atom written in formula)

3. Draw central atom in the middle and then draw single bonds to the ligands

4. Satisfy the octet rule for each ligand by drawing lone pairs around them

5. Double Check. Count how many dots are in the structure.

a. If you have the correct number of dots, go to step 6.
b. If you do not have enough dots…add them to the central atom by adding lone pairs until you
have all the dots needed.

6. If the octet rule is not satisfied for the central atom, fix this by adding coordinate covalent bonds
from the ligands (take lone pairs from the ligand and make it a double/triple bond with the central
atom until the octet rule is satisfied.