Lewis Structure

[Hawa Kamara 1F]

How do you show a lewis structure at it's lowest energy?

[Kavee Dodampahala 4E]

To make sure a lewis structure is at its lowest energy you should calculate the formal charge for each atom. The lewis structure with the most formal charges closest to zero is the most stable and has the lowest energy.

[Caitlin Ciardelli 3E]

To find the lowest energy Lewis structure, you will need to examine formal charge. Lewis Structures with the lowest energy will have formal charges that cancel out to be zero or match the charge of the molecule if provided.

[Eunice Nguyen 4I]

To show a lewis structure at its lowest energy, you'll need to calculate the formal charges and make sure that it's equal to zero or as close as you can. You'll use the formula FC=V-(B+d) for each of the elements. V is valence electrons, B is bonds, and d is dots :)

[William Francis 2E]

After you've worked to ensure that the atoms in the molecule you're drawing satisfy the octet rule (unless they're exceptions), you should calculate the formal charge of each atom in the molecule by subtracting the number of bonds it's formed and the number of unpaired electrons around it from the number of valence electrons that element typically has. You want the formal charges to be zero ideally (or as close to zero as possible if need be) to draw the lowest energy Lewis structure.

[emwoodc]

calculate formal charge

[Megan Jung 3A]

You would need to look at the formal charge of each atom. To get the structure at its lowest energy, try to make the formal charge on each atom as close to 0 as possible.