Lewis Structures

1. The element letter is the atomic nucleus + core e2. Val e- is a dot around chemical symbol.
a. Non-metallic dots: top, below, right then left.
3. E- are paired, no single 2 e- can be drawing the same region
4. Line represents bonding of 2 e- in 2 elements
How to draw a Lewis Model
1. Select central atom (usually the one with highest valence) or lower first
ionization energy or bigger radius
a. If two have same ve-, then the largest one is the central
b. H and F are never central atoms
2. Count total number of ve3. Use as many pairs of e- as needed to form single bonds btw central atom and
other atoms in molecules or initial bonding
4. Use the remaining lone e- pairs to fill valence shell of each atom as needed
a. Start with terminal or outside atoms.
5. See if the elements are stable, if not, consider drawing double or triple bonds.

The MOST STABLE structures are those in which each atom forms as many
bonds as unfilled e- states are available in their valance shells (2 bonds O, 4
bonds C)
If there are more than one central atoms, need results from IR absorption
spectroscopy
Common broken down structures from IR spec
o CH3CH2OH Ethanol
o CH3CHO Acetaldehyde
o CH3COOH Acetic Acid

Resonance

Some Lewis structures have weird arrangement of veEg: O3

o 1. Central atom: O
o 2. 18 veo 3. Two pairs of ve- for initial bonding

4. 7 pairs of lone e- left

3 pairs for each of the outside O atoms
1 pair for the middle atom
The more bonds, the shorter the length
Resonance: Like O3, some ve- are delocalized across more than 1 covalent
bond
o

Dash lines to show presence of delocalized e- across multiple bonds

KE and PE of e- decreases when delocalized

The more the volume aka bonds, the greater stabilization

Molecular Ions and Radicals

Molecular ions: pay attention of the total number of ve- when building Lewis
struc.
o + charge cation = small total number of veo change anion = more ve=
o Eg: H3O+= 8 veo CO32- = 24 veUse brackets to indicate ions
Some ions have resonance structures like CO 32Free radicals unpaired ve- and can be neutral or charged particles.
o odd number of ve- for recogniztion
o can have resonance stabilization

Molecular Geometry: focuses on the atom in space

Lewis structures can infer 3D by interactions btw ve-

Identify two main things

1. Number of regions, or domains, of high e- density around each atomic

center in a molecule

2. The geometrical arrangement in 3Dspace that will keep these e- domain as

far apart as possible
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory: most stable spatial
distribution of e- domains in a molecule (e- domain geometry) will determine
how its several atomic nuclei arrange in space (molec geometry)
E- in double bond region has higher density than single bond.
Repulsion btw double bond and single is strong that between single bond and
single bood
Angle btw single bonds is smaller.
CH2O has trigonal planar
CO2 is linear
O3 is trigonal planar
Electron Domain Geometry: Trigonal Planar
Molecular Geometry: Bent or Angular
CH4 has a tetrahedral geometry (molec geo)

Steps to facilitate derivation of molec geo

1. Build Lewis structure w central atom
2. Count # of e- domains
4. Infer e- domain geometry
5. Identify molec geo

Skeleton structures of dif molecules (C and H are implying)