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 PO33-

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for PO33-

For the PO3 3- Lewis structure we first count the valence electrons for the PO3 3- molecule using the periodic table. Once we know how many valence electrons there are in PO3 3- we can distribute them around the central atom and attempt to fill the outer shells of each atom.

There are a total of 26 valence electrons in the PO3 3- Lewis structure.

For the Lewis structure for PO3 3- you should take formal charges into account to find the best Lewis structure for the molecule.


It is helpful if you:

  • Try to draw the PO33- Lewis structure before watching the video.
  • Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
  • Try structures similar to PO33- 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