The representation of the Lewis structure for a neutral molecule, that is, without charge, follows the following steps:
- Determine the number of valence electrons of each atom that the molecule has. Just like for carbon dioxide, each carbon has 4 valence electrons. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons.
- If a molecule has more than one type of atom, the most metallic or least electronegative goes in the center. If you don’t remember electronegativity, keep in mind that the trend that follows on the periodic table is that electronegativity decreases as the element moves away from fluorine.
- Arrange the electrons so that each atom contributes one electron to form a single bond between each atom.
- Finally, it is necessary to count the electrons around each atom. If each is 8 or one octet, then the octet is complete. If not, it goes to the next step.
- If there is an atom with missing dots, you have to redraw the structure to form certain pairs of electrons to make the number in each atom equal to 8. Except for hydrogen.
