Dot's in the Lewis Structure

[Ryan Troutman 4L]

Hello! When placing the dots (electrons) around the element, does it matter where we place them first? For example in Carbon do we go clockwise from the left side or does it really not matter when placing the dots? Thanks!

[Ruiting Jia 4D]

It doesn't matter where you place the dots, but you should make sure to fill up all the sides first before adding more than 4. For example, it's not right to have 3 dots on one side and no dots on the other sides.

[Sydney Tay 2B]

Where you place the dots doesn’t matter, but I think you have to make sure each side of the element has a dot before pairing up electrons.

[Nick Bazett 1F]

Yes, I believe when drawing the Lewis Dot structure for Carbon all four sides get a dot.

[Alex Alonso - 4F]

I don’t believe that it matters where you begin placing the dots on Lewis Structures, but I think that the dots shouldn’t be uneven on the outer atoms.

[kimberlyrose1G]

There is no order, although you should have one electron on each of the four sides before having two on the same side. You should also take a look at/aim for symmetry (having two on the right side, as well as the left side if the element has six valence electrons).

[juliasloan_4g]

Just make sure each side has one before pairing them. This applies to hund's rule from quantum mechanics. Same spin electrons should be put in different orbitals before pairing them.

[AustinGrove3B]

It does not matter. People usually tend to organize them so the unfilled sides match the other unfilled size, so geometrically they look like they should bind together. But it does not matter.

[Rebecca Park]

Ya! it doesn't matter in what order you place it

[Andreana Vetus 1A]

It doesn't matter where you place them, but remember that t=each side can only have 2. Also, a dash between two elements means the same thing as having 2 dots.

[Mariah Hill]

Is there any way to shorthand two dots on one side without implying a bond?