{"id":16425,"date":"2025-06-11T13:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/?p=16425"},"modified":"2025-06-11T13:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:10:16","slug":"draw-the-lewis-structures-for-each-of-the-following-molecules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/draw-the-lewis-structures-for-each-of-the-following-molecules\/","title":{"rendered":"Draw the Lewis structures for each of the following molecules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Draw the Lewis structures for each of the following molecules. Identify those that do not obey the octet rule and state the type of exception from the octet rule. ( a) AlH3 b) NO2 c) PF5 d) NH3<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\"><strong>The correct answer and explanation is:<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lewis Structures and Octet Rule Analysis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>(a) AlH\u2083 (Aluminum Hydride)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lewis Structure<\/strong>: <code>H | H\u2013Al\u2013H<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Octet Rule<\/strong>: <strong>Violated<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exception Type<\/strong>: <strong>Incomplete Octet<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Explanation<\/strong>: Aluminum (Al) has only 6 valence electrons in this molecule. Being in Group 13, it is an exception to the octet rule and can be stable with fewer than 8 electrons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>(b) NO\u2082 (Nitrogen Dioxide)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lewis Structure<\/strong>: <code>O=N\u2013O (with one single bond and one double bond, and one unpaired electron on N)<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Octet Rule<\/strong>: <strong>Violated<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exception Type<\/strong>: <strong>Odd-Electron Molecule (Free Radical)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Explanation<\/strong>: Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons and shares with two oxygens. After bonding, one electron remains unpaired, making NO\u2082 a free radical. This is a common case of odd-electron species that cannot have a full octet on all atoms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>(c) PF\u2085 (Phosphorus Pentafluoride)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lewis Structure<\/strong>: <code>F | F\u2013P\u2013F | \\ F F<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Octet Rule<\/strong>: <strong>Violated<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exception Type<\/strong>: <strong>Expanded Octet<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Explanation<\/strong>: Phosphorus (P), in Period 3, can use d-orbitals to expand its valence shell beyond 8 electrons. In PF\u2085, it forms five bonds, resulting in 10 electrons around phosphorus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>(d) NH\u2083 (Ammonia)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lewis Structure<\/strong>: <code>.. N \/|\\ H H H<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Octet Rule<\/strong>: <strong>Obeys<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Explanation<\/strong>: Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons and forms three covalent bonds with hydrogen atoms, using 3 electrons. The remaining 2 electrons form a lone pair, giving nitrogen a full octet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>300-Word Explanation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The octet rule states that atoms tend to form bonds until they are surrounded by 8 electrons, similar to noble gases. However, not all molecules follow this rule strictly due to various exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong>AlH\u2083<\/strong>, aluminum forms three single bonds with hydrogen. Each bond contributes 2 electrons, giving aluminum only 6 valence electrons. Group 13 elements like aluminum are stable with incomplete octets, making <strong>AlH\u2083 an example of an incomplete octet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NO\u2082<\/strong> presents another classic exception. Nitrogen typically needs 8 electrons, but in NO\u2082, it forms one single bond and one double bond with two oxygens and has one unpaired electron left over. This makes it a <strong>free radical<\/strong>, where an atom has an odd number of electrons and cannot satisfy the octet rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong>PF\u2085<\/strong>, phosphorus forms five single bonds with fluorine atoms. This adds up to 10 electrons around the central phosphorus atom. Phosphorus can do this because it\u2019s in Period 3 of the periodic table and can access d-orbitals to <strong>expand its octet<\/strong>, making PF\u2085 an <strong>expanded octet exception<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, <strong>NH\u2083 (ammonia)<\/strong> follows the octet rule. Nitrogen forms three bonds with hydrogen atoms and retains one lone pair, giving it exactly 8 electrons. This is a <strong>typical octet-compliant molecule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In conclusion, while the octet rule is a useful guideline, many molecules (especially those involving elements in Period 3 or having an odd number of electrons) can be stable while violating it. Recognizing these exceptions is key in understanding real-world molecular structures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Draw the Lewis structures for each of the following molecules. Identify those that do not obey the octet rule and state the type of exception from the octet rule. ( a) AlH3 b) NO2 c) PF5 d) NH3 The correct answer and explanation is: Lewis Structures and Octet Rule Analysis (a) AlH\u2083 (Aluminum Hydride) (b) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-quiz-questions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16426,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16425\/revisions\/16426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaviki.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}