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 SF₆

Video: Drawing the Lewis Structure for SF₆

For the SF6 Lewis structure we first count the valence electrons for the SF6 molecule using the periodic table. Once we know how many valence electrons there are in SF6 we can distribute them around the central atom and attempt to fill the outer shells of each atom.

There are a total of 48 valence electrons in the Lewis structure for SF6.

Note that Sulfur (S) is in Period 3 on the periodic table and can have an expanded octet and is able to have more than 8 valence electrons. For the SF6 Lewis structure there are a total of 12 valence electrons on the Sulfur (S) atom.

For the SF6 Lewis structure 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 SF₆ Lewis structure before watching the video.
• Watch the video and see if you missed any steps or information.
• Try structures similar to SF₆ 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