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 H2O

When you are learning to draw Lewis Structures you will see this one frequently. Be sure to make sure you are able to draw the structure for H2O quickly and accurately!

The Lewis Structure for water is useful because it allows to determine the molecular geometry and the polarity of the molecule. Because of the two lone pairs, H2O will have a bent molecular geometry and it will be a polar molecule.

Remember that Hydrogen only needs two electrons to have a full outer shell.

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for H2O

It is helpful if you:

  • Try to draw the H2O Lewis structure before watching the video.
  • Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
  • Try structures similar to H2O (like HCl or CH4) 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