Periodic Table Study Guide

How to Draw Lewis Structures

www.middleschoolscience.com 2008
 Objective/Warm-up
 SWBAT draw Lewis dot structures.
 How many valence electrons do each of the following
elements have?
Ca
K
O
S
C
Br
N
Groups -
Review
Except for He, it has 2
electrons

•Each column is
called a “group”

•Each element in a
group has the same
number of electrons
in their outer orbital.

•The electrons in the

outer shell are called
www.chem4kids.com “valence electrons”
Lewis Structures
Find out which group
(column) your
element is in.
This will tell you the
number of valence
electrons your
element has.
You will only draw the
valence electrons.

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Lewis Structures
1) Write the element
symbol.

2) Carbon is in the 4th group,

so it has 4 valence
electrons.

3) Starting at the right, draw

4 electrons, or dots,
around the element
symbol.
 Review-Octet Rule
 Atoms bond in order to have 8 valence
electrons.
 Exception:
 Hydrogen only needs 2 valence electrons to be
complete.
 Rules for drawing Example:

Lewis Dot Structures CH2Cl2

1. Count all the valence C= 4 valence

electrons for your atoms. H=1 x 2 valence
2. Draw the first atom (Second Cl=7 x 2 valence
atom if the first is Hydrogen) Total=20 valence
listed in the center, then
connect all other atoms to
the center atom with single
bonds.

3. Each bond counts as 2

electrons.

4. Complete any octets with

remaining electrons.
 Try these…
 CH4
 NF3
 Double and triple bonds
 What happens if you don’t have enough
electrons?
 Example:
 CO2
 Make double or triple bonds.
 Try these…
 OF2
 O2
 N2
 C2H6
 C2H4
 C2H2
 SO3
 Helpful Hints
 Remember: your Lewis structure may contain
multiple bonds (single, double, or triple)
 When arranging your atoms, atoms are often
written in the order in which they are connected
in a molecule or ion (C is almost always your
central atom; carbon forms 4 bonds)
 Examples
Draw the dot structure:

 H2O
 CH3Br
 CS2
 CH2O
 O3
 Closure
 Explain the steps to writing electron dot
structures.
Molecular Geometry
(VSEPR)