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 NO₂

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for NO₂

The NO2 Lewis structure has a total of 17 valence electrons. It's not common to have an odd number of valence electrons in a Lewis structure. Because of this we'll try to get as close to an octet as we can on the central Nitrogen (N) atom. This will mean that it will only have 7 valence electrons.

In the Lewis structure for NO2 the Nitrogen atom is the least electronegative atom and goes at the center of the structure.

For the NO2 Lewis structure, calculate the total number of valence electrons for the NO2 molecule. After determining how many valence electrons there are in NO2, place them around the central atom to complete the octets.

It is helpful if you:

• Try to draw the NO₂ Lewis structure before watching the video.
• Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
• Try structures similar to NO₂ 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