Lewis Structure Chemistry Example 4

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Example 4

medium
Draw the Lewis structure for ammonia (NH3\text{NH}_3), and state how many lone pairs are on the nitrogen atom.

Solution

  1. 1
    Count valence electrons: nitrogen has 5 and the 3 hydrogens contribute 3 more, for a total of 8 valence electrons.
  2. 2
    Place nitrogen in the center with 3 single N–H bonds (6 electrons), leaving 2 electrons as 1 lone pair on nitrogen.

Answer

NH3\text{NH}_3 has three N–H single bonds and 1 lone pair on nitrogen.
Lewis structures track valence electrons in bonds and lone pairs. In ammonia, nitrogen completes an octet using three shared pairs and one lone pair.

About Lewis Structure

A two-dimensional diagram that represents the arrangement of valence electrons around atoms in a molecule, showing bonding pairs as lines between atoms and non-bonding (lone).

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More Lewis Structure Examples

Example 1 easy

Draw the Lewis structure for water ([formula]).

Example 2 medium

Draw the Lewis structure for carbon dioxide ([formula]).

Example 3 hard

Draw the Lewis structure for the nitrate ion ([formula]). Include formal charges.

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