Section 3
Lewis Dot Symbols and Lewis Structures
Book
Version 33
By Boundless
By Boundless
Boundless Chemistry
Chemistry
by Boundless
4 concepts
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/29864/square/electron_shell_079_gold.jpg)
Representing Valence Electrons in Lewis Symbols
Lewis symbols use dots to visually represent the valence electrons of an atom.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/22864/raw/periodic-table-armtuk3.jpg)
Writing Lewis Symbols for Atoms
The Lewis symbol for an atom depicts its valence electrons as dots around the symbol for the element.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/29885/square/h2 molecule.jpg)
Introduction to Lewis Structures for Covalent Molecules
In covalent molecules, atoms share pairs of electrons in order to achieve a full valence level.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/32439/square/akfbielgqf6kazkmkdxg.jpg)
Lewis Structures for Polyatomic Ions
The Lewis structure of an ion is placed in brackets and its charge is written as a superscript outside of the brackets, on the upper right.