QQuestionChemistry
QuestionChemistry
Draw the Lewis structure for a hydrogen fluoride (HF) molecule.
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Answer
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Step 1:: Recall the rules for drawing Lewis structures.
- Determine the total number of valence electrons in the molecule. For HF, hydrogen has 1 valence electron and fluorine has 7 valence electrons, giving a total of 8 valence electrons. - Place the atoms in a way that satisfies their octets (except for hydrogen, which only needs 2 electrons to complete its duplet). - Distribute the remaining electrons as lone pairs to achieve a stable octet for each atom.
Step 2:: Draw the initial structure.
- Place the hydrogen atom on the left side and the fluorine atom on the right side with a single bond between them. \mathrm{H}-\mathrm{F}
Step 3:: Add lone pairs to complete the octets.
- Add a lone pair of electrons to the hydrogen atom (not necessary as hydrogen only needs 2 electrons to complete its duplet). - Add another lone pair of electrons to the fluorine atom to complete its octet. \mathrm{H}: oori:
Step 4:: Check the formal charges.
- The formal charge on hydrogen is 0 (it has 1 valence electron and 1 electron in its single bond). - The formal charge on fluorine is 0 (it has 7 valence electrons, 6 electrons in its lone pairs, and 1 electron in its single bond).
Final Answer
\mathrm{H}: oori:
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