Commonly Tested Lewis Structures

We draw Lewis Structures to predict:

-the shape of a molecule.

-the reactivity of a molecule and how it might interact with other molecules.

-the physical properties of a molecule such as boiling point, surface tension, etc.

Drawing the Lewis Structure for ClO₂^-

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for ClO₂^-

For the ClO2- Lewis structure the total number of valence electrons (found on the periodic table) for the ClO2- molecule. Once we know how many valence electrons there are in ClO2- we can distribute them around the central atom with the goal of filling the outer shells of each atom.

In the Lewis structure for ClO2- we put Chlorine (Cl) at the center of the structure since it is the least electronegative. There are total of 20 valence electrons for the ClO2- Lewis structure. Remember that the negative sign counts as one valence electron.

To show that the ClO2- Lewis structure is an ion with a -1 change we need to put brackets around the structure and put a negative side on the outside of the brackets.

It is helpful if you:

• Try to draw the ClO₂^- Lewis structure before watching the video.
• Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
• Try structures similar to ClO₂^- for more practice.

List of Lewis Structures

Acetone	BF3	BH4-	BrF5	BrO3-	C2H2	C2H4	ClO-
CH4	ClO2-	ClO2	ClO4-	CO	CS2	H2O	H3O+
HCl	HNO3	I3-	ICl4-	IF5	N2	N3-	NH2OH
NH3	NO2-	NO2	NO3-	O2	OF2	PCl5	PH3
PO33-	PO43-	SCl2	SF4	SF6	SO3	SO42-	XeF2
XeF4