Lewis Diagram

[Sameer Chowdhury 3C]

When drawing a a Lewis Diagram for a molecule that has a coordinate covalent bond, is there an specific notation for it, or are we supposed to figure that out based on knowledge of the individual atoms in the structure and the amount of valence electrons each has?

[Aydin Karatas 1F]

From what I understood from his lecture, Dr. Lavelle said that when looking at a molecule with a coordinate covalent bond, there is no real way to distinguish it notationally from other bonds in the complex. It's context-dependent, meaning a diagram is used to show the before and after. If you wanted to be truly precise with identity the coordinate covalent bonds in a complex, I guess a diagram that shows the before and after would suffice.

Hope this very vague answer this helps.

[Susanna Givan 2B]

Yea, I don't really think there is a way to display that info in a diagram. You could always write it out though and include the information with the diagram that way.

[IanWheeler3F]

One way you can "know" there is a coordinate covalent bond is when you see these brackets [ ] and a metal and a bunch of molecules/atoms all stuck together in a chemical formula. Like here's a random one: [Pt(NH3)3(Cl3)]Cl. I know the question was for lewis structures so when you see these metals and molecules/atoms in a drawn structure you usually know its a coordinate covalent bond due to the properties of the metal, but I don't think we go into that quite yet.

[allyssa bradley 1H]

I think I've also seen Lavelle notate coordinate covalent bonds with a dotted line to show the interaction/change occurring!

[DavidTabib 3H]

No, it looks the same as a normal bond.