Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

and Octet Rule

Have you ever played
the classic puzzle
game called Connect-
the-dots? In this game,
you start from an
initial dot, then
connect it to another
and continue doing so
until you form a
certain image. 2
In chemistry, dots are
used to represent
valence electrons of an
atom. These “dots” of
an atom are then
connected to “dots” of
another atom to show
how bonds are formed.
3
 In this lesson, you will learn the rule that atoms observe as
they undergo bond formations. Also, explicit instructions on
how to draw Lewis electron-dot structures are given to help
you illustrate bond formations in succeeding lessons.

4
What are Lewis electron-dot
structures?

5
 Recall: Chemical Bonding

Subatomic particles:

1. protons (positively-charged)
2. neutrons (neutral)
3. electrons (negatively-charged)

6
 Recall: Chemical Bonding

● nucleus → where protons and

neutrons are found

● electrons surround the nucleus

and are located at various energy
levels

7
 Recall: Chemical Bonding

Valence Electrons
● the outermost electrons of an atom that take part in
chemical reactions
● either transferred or shared to another atom in order
to attain stability

8
How are valence electron
visually represented in an
atom?

9
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Lewis Electron-Dot
Symbol
● a diagram used to
represent the valence
electrons of an atom
● chemical bonds →
interaction of valence
electrons of two atoms
10
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

● element symbol = the nucleus of an atom
● the dots around it = the valence electrons

11
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Lewis Electron-Dot
Symbol
● number of dots =
number of valence
electrons in the atom
● dots arranged to the
sides, as well as above
and below the symbol
of the element.
12
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

No more than two dots on one side, regardless of the
position.

13
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Steps in Writing Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

1. Determine first its number of valence electrons.

○ for main group elements or the A-group numbers
(1A to 8A), the group number also tells the number
of valence electrons.

14
Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

The group number of main group elements also represents

its number of valence electrons. 15
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Steps in Writing Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

2. Place one dot at a time on each of the four sides of
the element symbol.

3. Keep adding dots and pair them up, until you are
able to draw the correct number of valence electrons.

e.g., nitrogen (N) → belongs to group 5A

→ five valence
electrons 16
Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Writing the Lewis electron-dot symbol for nitrogen (N).

17
Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Other ways of writing the Lewis electron-dot symbol for

nitrogen (N). 18
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

● The Lewis electron-dot symbol provides information

about the element’s behavior in bond formation.

19
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

● The Lewis electron-dot symbol provides information

about the element’s behavior in bond formation.
● For a metal, the total number of dots also indicates the
number of valence electrons that an atom loses to
form a cation.
○ e.g., Na → belongs to group 1A, one valence e-

20
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

For a nonmetal, the number of unpaired dots represents

either the number of electrons that an atom gains to form
an anion or the number of electrons it can share in
forming covalent bonds.
○ e.g., S → six valence e-s
→ has two unpaired e-s

21
Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

e.g., C → four valence e-s

→ has four unpaired e-s
→ can form four bonds

Larger nonmetals can form as many bonds as the

number of dots in their Lewis electron-dot symbol.

22
 Lewis Electron-Dot Symbol

Lewis electron-dot symbols for main group elements (groups 1A to 8A) 23

Regardless of the position, there should
only be two dots on one side.

24
How is octet rule observed by
atoms when forming bonds?

25
 Octet Rule

● It is the tendency of atoms to attain a stable electron

configuration.

26
 Octet Rule

● It is the tendency of atoms to attain a stable electron

configuration
● An atom is at its most stable state when its outermost
shell is completely filled with electrons.

27
 Octet Rule

● It is the tendency of atoms to attain a stable electron

configuration.
● An atom is at its most stable state when its outermost
shell is completely filled with electrons.
● Atoms lose, gain, or share electrons to acquire a
group of eight valence electrons.

28
 Octet Rule

● It is the tendency of atoms to attain a stable electron

configuration.
● An atom is at its most stable state when its outermost
shell is completely filled with electrons.
● Atoms lose, gain, or share electrons to acquire a
group of eight valence electrons.
● It provides an understanding of how atoms bond and
form compounds.
29
 Octet Rule

● Only s and p electrons are considered:

○ d- or f- electrons are not considered
○ elements in the d-block and f-block are disregarded

● Octet corresponds to the electron configuration, s2p6,

which contains eight electrons.

30
 Octet Rule

Noble Gases
Unreactive elements because of their electron
configurations
● All the noble gases, except for He, have an outer shell
with eight electrons (s2p6)
● Cannot incorporate any more electrons in it
● Unable to form bonds with other elements

31
Octet Rule

Atomic models of some noble gases 32

 Octet Rule

Two ways for atoms to satisfy the octet rule:

1. Sharing their valence electrons with other atoms.

○ common among nonmetals to attain stability
(covalent bonding)

Electrons are shared by two Cl atoms to satisfy the octet rule. 33

 Octet Rule

2. Transferring valence electrons from one atom to

another.
○ a common interaction between metals and
nonmetals (ionic bonding)

34
 Octet Rule

2. Transferring valence electrons from one atom to

another.
○ a common interaction between metals and
nonmetals (ionic bonding)
○ metals tend to lose all their valence electrons so
that the next lowest principal energy level will only
have eight valence electrons

35
 Octet Rule

2. Transferring valence electrons from one atom to

another.
○ a common interaction between metals and
nonmetals (ionic bonding)
○ metals tend to lose all their valence electrons so
that the next lowest principal energy level will only
have eight valence electrons
○ nonmetal atoms tend to gain electrons in order to
fill their outermost principal energy level with an
octet.
36
 Octet Rule

2. Transferring valence electrons from one atom to

another.

37
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for aluminum.

38
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for aluminum.

39
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol
for boron.

40
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for phosphorus.a

41
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for phosphorus.

42
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol
for nitrogen.

43
In the ionic bond formation between sodium and
chloride ions, sodium ion loses an electron while
chlorine gains an electron. How will you represent
the valence electrons of these ions through Lewis
electron-dot symbols?

44
In the ionic bond formation between sodium and
chloride ions, sodium ion loses an electron while
chlorine gains an electron. How will you represent
the valence electrons of these ions through Lewis
electron-dot symbols?

45
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol
for Li+ and F- ions.

46
How does Lewis electron-dot
symbol help predict the
chemical bond that exists
between atoms?

47
Tell whether the statement is true or false.

1. Valence electrons take part in the bond formation.

2. The tendency of an atom to attain a stable

configuration is known as the octet rule.

3. All noble gases except krypton satisfy the octet rule.

48
Draw the Lewis electron-dot symbol for the following
elements.
Element Lewis electron-dot symbol
1. He
2. B
3. S

49
● A Lewis electron-dot symbol is a diagram used
to represent the valence electrons of an atom.
The element symbol is used to indicate the
nucleus of an atom while the dots around it
represent the valence electrons.

50
● The number of dots should be equal to the
number of valence electrons in the atom. The
dots are arranged to the sides, as well as above
and below the symbol of the element.

51
● To write the Lewis electron-dot symbol of a
certain element, consider the following steps:
a. Determine the valence electrons of the given
element.
b. Write the element symbol.

52
● To write the Lewis electron-dot symbol of a
certain element, consider the following steps:
c. Place one dot at a time on each of the four
sides of the element symbol.
d. Keep adding dots until the number of valence
electrons is distributed already.

53
● There should be no more than two dots on one
side, regardless of the position. This is to
represent that each orbital can hold only a
maximum of two electrons.

54
● In the formation of either an ionic bond or a
covalent bond, atoms lose, gain, or share
electrons to acquire a group of eight valence
electrons. This tendency of atoms to attain a
stable electron configuration is known as the
octet rule.

55
● There are two ways for atoms to satisfy the octet
rule. The first one is by transferring electrons
from one atom to another, and the other one is
by the sharing of electrons between atoms.

56
Why are some elements
exempted from following the
octet rule?

57