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Chemistry: Electron Dot diagrams?



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Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:10 am
Ducati says...



Basically in class we were doing really simple covalent bonding, just things that easily formed noble gas configuration, singled bonded or whatever it is. Then for homework we got given questions to do that I didn't understand, they seem more advanced. The class moves on quickly over subjects, so I thought I'd ask here in case the teacher doesn't explain (quite likely). I don't get how to do an electron dot diagram of Bromide gas or carbon tetrafluoride...basically can't do ones where it's not simple. Please help, I don't get how bromide gas can form a noble gas configuration!
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Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:53 pm
Rosendorn says...



Noble gas configuration (Def.): A Noble Gas is a gas with eight electrons in its outer shell (baring the bigger ones such as Kr and Xe). That means, a Nobel Gas will not bond to any other elements. A good chunk of elements want eight electrons in their outer-shell. Once they have eight, they reach "Noble Gas Configuration" (I actually didn't use that term. I used "Full Octet")

Now, for Carbon Tetrafluoride, that's one Carbon as the central atom, and four Fluorides around it. You draw the dot-structure like so (note- I only put the dashes and > (which are very faintly in white) so the atoms would show up in the correct places!):

-> ..
->:F:
-.. .. ..
:F:C:F:
`` `` ``
->:F:
-> ``

To translate that mass of dots: Fluoride has seven electrons in it's outer shell. It's missing one (to get eight, which is what most atoms want). Carbon has four electrons in it's outer shell. It's missing another four (to get eight). So, four Fluorides go around the central Carbon atom to form that molecule.

Bromide is different, and I actually don't know how to do that. :oops: Since it doesn't want eight electrons in its outer-shell, I don't know how to draw it exactly, but from it's position on the periodic table, it would look something like this:

Br:Br

Unfortunately, I have no idea how to draw the other dots, but I do know that the two Bromine atoms would share one electron.

Hope this helps!

~Rosey
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