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 C₂H₂ (Ethyne or Acetylene)

For C₂H₂ you have a total of 10 valence electrons to work with.

In drawing the Lewis structure for C₂H₂ (also called ethyne) you'll find that you don't have enough valence electrons available to satisfy the octet for each element (if you use only single bonds). The solution is to share three pairs of valence electrons and form a triple bond between the Carbon atoms in C₂H₂ .

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for C₂H₂

It is helpful if you:

• Try to draw the C₂H₂ Lewis structure before watching the video.
• Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
• Try structures similar to C₂H₂ (like N₂) 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

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