Lewis Dot Structures Worksheet

Drawing Lewis Dot Structures

1. Add up the total number of valence electrons in the molecule by totaling the valence electrons on each atom in the molecule or polyatomic ion.

2. Draw the skeleton structure of the molecule or polyatomic ion in which the covalent bonds between the atoms are drawn as single lines. Each bond equals two valence

electrons. If the molecule has more than two atoms, the atom with the lowest

electronegativity is generally listed first and is the central atom and is written in the

middle.

3. Distribute valence electrons around the outer atoms as nonbonding electrons to until each atom has a complete outer shell (8 electrons except for H which has only 2 valence

electrons).

4. Add the remaining valence electrons to the central atom.

5. Check the central atom. o If the central atom has eight electrons surrounding it, the Lewis Structure is

complete.

o If the central atom has less than eight electrons, remove a nonbonding electron

pair from one of the outer atoms and for a double bond between that atom and the

central atom. If needed, continue to remove nonbonding electron pairs from the

outer atoms until the central atom has a complete octet.