Westminster H.S.

 AP Chemistry Name _________________________________

Period ___ Date ___/___/___
8  Bonding: General Concepts
LEWIS STRUCTURES
1. A bond forms when two orbitals ____________ 5. You should be able quickly to state the number
allowing electrons to be close to two nuclei at of valence electrons any atom has based on its
the same time. When two H atoms bond, they position on the periodic table. Write it.
overlap electrons in their ______ orbitals.
P Ca F As
2. As two H atoms approach each other, the
potential energy ____________ because of the C Na K H
electron-proton attractions. The potential
energy __________ because of electron-electron Si O B Mg
and proton-proton repulsions.
6. Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for each
3. Consider this diagram: of the following elements.
P Ca F As
C Na K H
Si O B Mg

7. In writing Lewis structures, the rule is that only

Two separate atoms have an energy of ___J. valence electrons are included.
The equilibrium bond distance is ______ nm.
The bond energy is ______ Joules which is the Atom Ion Atom Ion
amount of energy you need to add to break the
bond (i.e. separate the two atoms). K Br
4. Consider this diagram again: Al N

8. You should be able to recognize the type of

bond that forms between two atoms based on
the atoms involved. Classify each of the
following bonds as Ionic or Covalent.
SO KI
If two He atoms approach, their bond distance
NaCl HCl
is 0.500 nm and bond energy is 100 J. Sketch
the energy curve for He2. The two atoms do not
CaBr SiO
get close enough for the electrons to be close to
both nuclei at the same time… no bond forms.
XeF MgCl
We generalize: two _____________ orbitals
CAN make a bond. CO NI
Two ________ orbitals cannot make a bond.
9. Lewis symbols are generally used with covalent
bonds, but they CAN be used with ionic bonds.
Draw the Lewis symbols for these ions:
cation anion Lewis symbols for compound
Na+ Cl-
13. The Lewis symbol for O can be drawn two
ways, so the Lewis symbol for H2O can be
drawn two ways. Draw them:

Ca2+ O2-
Which one is correct? ________________
Li+ F- (Consider the picture of water.)

Mg2+ F- 14. Not all atoms follow the octet rule.

Elements ___ through ___ are too small.
Na+ S2- Families ___, ___, and ___ also do not follow
the octet rule when forming covalent bonds.
However, these families are USUALLY
10. All of the negative ions (anions) above are
involved in ionic bonds.
surrounded by ___ electrons. For the positive
ions (cations) we show ____ electrons, but we
Some atoms have MORE than an octet, too, this
know that there is a full shell one level below.
is called the “extended valence shell”.
The _________ rule is a recognition of the fact
that atoms are often (not always) surrounded by
15. Each of the diatomic elements involves a
8 electrons.
covalent bond.
Draw the Lewis symbol for each one.
11. When a covalent bond forms, two ______ -
Which one does not follow the octet rule? ___
__________ orbitals overlap. Hydrogen only
Diatomic Lewis
uses one orbital, the _____ orbital.
Molecule Symbol
Draw and label oxygen’s valence orbitals:
Oxygen:
H2 H H
Consider the two H atoms and the O atom in a
water molecule. N2 N N
How many bonds are shown? _____

O2 O O

F2 F F

For each bond, the hydrogen orbital uses its

____ orbital. The oxygen atom uses its two
Cl2 Cl Cl
half-filled ____ orbitals to overlap each of the
hydrogen’s half-filled orbitals.
Br2 Br Br
12. Draw the Lewis dot symbol for H2O.

I2 I I

The oxygen atom is surrounded by ____ e-‘s.

16. The Lewis Structure of a molecule shows how 17. The rules we have used for Lewis structures
the valence electrons are arranged among the apply to most molecules, but there are
atoms in the molecule. exceptions.

Steps for Writing Lewis Structures: Incomplete Octet:

a. Sum the valence electrons from all the Boron, for example, tend to form compounds in
atoms. Do not worry about keeping track of which the boron atom as fewer than 8 electrons.
which electrons come from which atoms. It
is the total number of electrons that is BF3
important.
b. Use a pair of electrons to form a bond
between each pair of bound atoms.
c. Arrange the remaining electrons to satisfy
the duet rule for hydrogen and the octet rule
for the second-row elements. Expanded Octet:
Some atoms exceed the octet rule. This behavior
Example: Give the Lewis structure for each of the is observed only for those elements in Period 3
following: of the periodic table and beyond.
a. HF
SF6

b. N2

c. NH3

Comments about the Octet Rule:

1. The second-row elements C,N,O, and F
should always be assumed to obey the octet
rule.
d. CH4 2. The second-row elements B and Be often
have fewer than 8 electrons around them in
their compounds. These electron-deficient
compounds are very reactive.
3. The second-row elements never exceed the
octet rule, since their valence orbitals (2s
e. CF4 and 2p) can accommodate only 8 electrons.
4. Third-row and heavier elements often satisfy
the octet rule but can exceed the octet rule
by using their empty valence d orbitals.
5. When writing the Lewis structure for a
molecule, satisfy the octet rule for the atoms
f. NO+ first. If electrons remain after the octet rule
has been satisfied, then place them on the
elements having available d orbitals
(elements in Period 3 or beyond).