Drawing Lewis Structures

[saigorijavolu2k]

How exactly would you guys recommend drawing a lewis structure

[DTingey_1C]

First count the e- in all the atoms and add them together then add the charge of the molecule. When drawing the placement of the atoms, put the one with the lowest ionization energy in the middle and the other atoms around it (hydrogen is always on the outside. Then draw the e- around the atoms (only pairing e- when there is no space left for individual e-) until all the atoms reach their most stable state (by having 8 e-, either through ionic or covalent bonds).

[Harry Zhang 1B]

First you will need to determine how many valence electrons there are in each atom by looking at the periodic chart(their group number), which is more efficient than writing out its electron configuration to determine. Then you will need to arrange the electrons around the atoms in a clockwise manner with no more than 2 electrons in one orbital. The next step would be to look at the charge of the polyatomic ion if it is one and add or subtract electrons as indicated. The final step is to arrange them in a way that each of the atoms has an octet.

[Sanjana Borle 2K]

For me it really helps to count up all the total electrons in the structure and see if it matches my Lewis structure to check my work. It also helps for me to draw the atom in the center, which is the one with the least ionization energy, first so that I can draw everything around it after.