Chemical Bonds Lewis Structure: Octet Rule Violation [ENDORSED]

[Allyson Charco Dis1G]

In each of these compounds, an atom violates the octet rule. Identify the atom and explain the deviation from the octet rule: (a) BeCl2; (b) ClO2.

It makes sense why Be does not follow the octet rule because it only has 4 electrons but why does ClO2 not follow the octet rule?
But how did we get odd number of electrons for chlorine? How do we know how many valence electrons it will have?

[ami patel]

It is probably an octet violator because of the effective charge of the chlorine. It is probably more stable with the odd number of electrons.

[ZoeHahn1J]

I'm not sure, but ClO2 being incomplete might have to do with the fact that Cl only has 7 valence electrons, so the total number of valence electrons is an odd number. Therefore, Cl must have one unpaired electron.

[Sarah Rutzick 1L]

This exception is like the one we talked about in class when we discussed radical exceptions to the octet rule, which is when there is a compound with an unpaired electron.