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Lewis Dot Structures of Ions

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Devanand Manaram
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19 views5 pages

Lewis Dot Structures of Ions

Uploaded by

Devanand Manaram
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lewis Dot Structures of Atoms and Ions

Why?
The chemical properties of an element are based on the number of electrons in the outer
shell of its atoms. We use Lewis dot structures to map these valence electrons in order to
identify stable electron configurations. Most atoms tend to lose or gain electrons in order to
achieve noble gas stability. For example, the metal sodium will react violently with the gas
chlorine, but once the elements form the compound sodium chloride (table salt) they are very
stable due to the stable electron configuration.
Objective
• Use Lewis dot structures to represent the valence shells of metal and nonmetal
atoms and ions.
Task
Watch the video clip at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afRlDab1_e8

Key Questions
1. What is the product of sodium metal reacting with chlorine gas?

2. Is energy released or absorbed in the reaction?

3. Is the reaction product (sodium chloride) more or less stable than the reactants (sodium
metal and chlorine gas)? Explain.

Model: Drawing Lewis Dot Structures for Atoms and Ions


A. Lewis dot structure for an atom of chlorine is

The number of valence electrons for an atom is the number of electrons in the outer
energy level (shell) of the atom. Chlorine’s electron configuration is 2-8-7; therefore it has
seven valence electrons and needs to have seven dots drawn around its symbol.
B. Lewis dot structure for a chloride ion is

Chlorine needs an additional electron to attain the stable noble gas configuration of 8
valence electrons. Since chlorine is a nonmetal, it has relatively high values for electronegativity
and ionization energy. This means that it will gain electrons until it achieves a stable octet.
When chlorine becomes an ion we add one more dot to the atom’s diagram, and put in the
resulting charge of -1. The ion has 17 protons in the nucleus, with a total of 18 electrons, giving it
a net charge of -1.

C. Lewis dot structure for an atom of sodium is

Sodium has an electron configuration of 2-8-1, therefore it has one valence electron, and
needs one dot.

D. Lewis dot structure for a sodium ion

Since sodium is a metal, it has relatively low values for ionization energy and
electronegativity. This means that sodium loses an electron to achieve the stable noble gas
configuration of 8 valence electrons. We must take away 1 dot from the dot diagram of the
sodium atom and put in the resulting charge of +1. The ion has 11 protons in the nucleus, but
only 10 electrons remain, giving a net charge of +1.
Review Concepts
1. What is a valence electron?

2. How can you determine the number of valence electrons in an atom?

Key questions
4. How many valence electrons does a chloride ion have?

5. In general terms, what is the difference between an atom and an ion?

6. In general, how do metals form ions to achieve the stable noble gas configuration?

7. In general, how do nonmetals form ions to achieve the stable noble gas configuration?

8. What will happen when metals and nonmetals come into contact with each other?

9. Based on the number of valence electrons for each element, why don't elements in group 18
readily form compounds with other elements.
Exercises
1. Draw the dot diagram for an atom of potassium.

2. Draw the dot diagram for an atom of bromine.

3. In the compound potassium bromide, determine the charge on the potassium ion and the
charge on the bromide ion.

4. Draw the dot diagrams for calcium and oxygen.

5. Based on the dot diagram for the atoms in Exercise 4, identify what you expect the
charges on calcium ions and oxide ions to be when they form compounds. Explain your
answer.

6. Draw the dot diagram for an atom of carbon.

7. Identify how carbon can attain the stable noble gas configuration of 8 electrons.

8. Indicate whether the following species have a stable noble gas configuration.
Rb Ar

C-4 Ca+2
S Cl-1
Fr+1 O-2
Problems:
1. Using Lewis dot diagrams, show how some number of atoms of magnesium and atoms of
fluorine can transfer electrons to form ions of each element with stable octets. Be sure to
include the resulting charges of the ions. Circle the part of your diagram that shows the
formation of one formula unit of magnesium fluoride.

2. Draw a diagram to show how at least 3 magnesium ions and at least 3 fluoride ions
might be arranged in space to form the solid salt magnesium fluoride.

3. What is the force of attraction that holds the magnesium and fluoride ions together? Would
you expect the ions in a sample of magnesium fluoride to have a strong or a weak attraction
for each other? Explain your answer

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