Lewis Structures and Bonding Exam Review

This set of flashcards covers key concepts related to Lewis structures, bond types, resonance, electronegativity, and molecular geometry.

What does a Lewis Dot Symbol represent?

Valence electrons interacting with the elements represented by their symbols.

What is the central atom in a Lewis structure?

The atom with the lowest electronegativity around which the molecular structure is organized.

What is a lone pair?

A covalent bond that is not exchanged with another atom represented by two dots on the central atom.

How do you determine the central and terminal atoms in a structure?

Identify the central atom first, then find the group number of each atom and multiply by the number of atoms.

What is a formal charge and why is it important?

The formal charge is calculated to determine the most plausible structure when more than one Lewis structure exists for a compound.

What indicates a preferred Lewis structure?

A Lewis structure where formal charges are zero is preferred; if not zero, smaller charges are preferred.

What is a resonance structure?

A resonance structure is one of two or more equally valid Lewis structures for a single species.

What do resonance structures differ in?

They differ only in the position of their electrons, not in the position of their atoms.

What defines an ionic bond?

The transfer of electrons from a metal atom to a nonmetal atom.

What is a nonpolar covalent bond?

A bond in which nonmetal atoms share an electron pair equally.

What is a polar covalent bond?

A bond in which the electron pair between two nonmetal atoms is unequally shared.

What determines the polarity of a bond?

The difference in electronegativity between the bonded atoms.

What is electronegativity?

A measure of the ability of an atom in a molecule to attract electrons to itself.

How is bond polarity impacted by electronegativity?

The greater the difference in electronegativity, the more polar the bond.

What is VSEPR theory used for?

To predict the geometry of individual molecules based on the repulsion between electron pairs.

What are the types of molecular geometry described by the number of electron pairs?

Linear, trigonal planar, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal, and octahedral.

What is hybridization?

The mixing of atomic orbitals to form new hybrid orbitals suitable for the formation of chemical bonds.