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Simple Procedure for writing Lewis Structures Lewis Structures for nitric

acid (HNO3)

Lewis Electron Dot Structure of


nitric acid HNO3

A simple procedure for writing Lewis Structures was given in a previous


article entitled Lewis Structures and the Octet Rule. Several worked
examples relevant to this procedure were given in previous posts please see
the Sitemap - Table of Contents (Lewis Electron Dot Structures).
Let us consider the case of nitric acid HNO3.
Nitric acid is a strong oxidizing agent and it dissolves practically all metals
except gold and platinum and some other precious metals. As such, is an
important raw material for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. It
is mainly used for etching and for the production of pure nitrates. Even
though nitric acid was known since the 9th century - alchemists used it to
separate gold and silver - its mass production started in 1902 when a
German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald developed an industrial process. The
German corporation BASF start producing it in an industrial scale by 1915.
Initially it was used for the production of explosives but today its main use is
for the production of fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate. Other main
applications is for the production of explosives, nylon precursors and
substituted organic compounds.
In elemental analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy, ICP, graphite
furnace atomic spectroscopy dilute nitric acid is used as a "solvent" for the
determination of metal traces in solution.
Step 1: The central atom will be the N atom since it is the less
electronegative (H is a terminal atom it cannot be a central atom).
Connect the atoms with single bonds:

Step 2: Calculate the # of electrons in bonds (multiple bonds)


using formula (1):

Where n in this case is 4 since HNO3 consists of five atoms but one of them is
a H atom.
Where V = (1 + 6 + 5 + 6 + 6) = 24
Therefore, P = 6n + 2 V = 6 * 4 + 2 24 = 2 So there are 2 electrons
in HNO3
1 double bond must be added to the structure of Step 1.
Step 3 & 4: One double bond must therefore be placed through the
3 N-O bonds. Therefore, the Lewis resonance structures for HNO 3
are as follows:

CHEMICAL BONDING AND COMPOUND


FORMATION
One of the most important requirements in chemistry is to become familiar with the ways in
which elements react to form compounds. We will investigate the types of chemical bonds, ways
to predict compositions and the conventions of naming the compounds.

Chemical bonds make atoms more stable than they are if non-bonded

Bond formation involves changes in the electrons on two atoms

This is achieved by one of two methods

Electron transfer

Electron sharing

Electron transfer involves creation of ions, which bond via ionic bonds to form ionic
compounds. A Familiar compound like table salt, sodium chloride, is a classic example of an
ionic compound.
The documents called Type 1 Compounds and Type 2 Compounds give information on
predicting composition and naming of ionic compounds[1]
Electron sharing involves the sharing of electrons between two atoms and the creation of
covalent bonds. Covalently bonded compounds typically have very different properties from
ionic compounds, and they also involve combinations of different types of elements.
The document called Type 3 Compounds gives information of the naming of covalent
compounds.[2]
Although there are many elements and even more compounds to consider, familiarity with a few
rules will greatly simplify the process of becoming conversant with determining compositions of
compounds.
The octet rule

It is well known that the elements in group 8, the noble gases, are extremely unreactive.
Examination of the electronic structures of these elements shows that the outer shells are full of
electrons; they do not lack for electrons to fill the shells. None of the other elements has a filled
outer shell.

The inference we draw from this is that the atom wants to obtain a filled shell, and this it
achieves by forming bonds. This can be done by either addition of electrons or removal of
electrons. The noble gas atom already has a filled shell and does not need to indulge in bonding
to achieve it.

Elements on the left side of the table, metals, will lose electrons to form positive ions; elements
on the right hand side of the table, non-metals, will gain electrons. In both cases, a filled shell
will result.
Of course, we must recognize that the atom is now charged because the electron and proton
counts are not equal. Electron loss creates positive ions, and electron gain creates negative ions.

In an ionic compound, a positive ion and a negative ion come together and form an ionic bond
through the strong electrostatic interaction between the ions of opposing charge.
Predicting ion charges

It is essential to be able to predict the charge on an ion in order to predict the composition of
compounds formed containing it. We can use the periodic table to assist us in this.

The table shows the periodic table with the charges of the ions shown. Note, that in this version,
the SI scheme of 1 18 is used rather than the older 1A 8A. We find a very strong
correspondence between group number (using the older scheme) and ion charge.
Rule to predict ion charge

Cation

Charge = group number

Anion

Charge = -(8 - group number)

Ionic compounds

Ionic compounds always contain a metal and a non-metal.


Predicting composition

A compound is always neutral, and so charges of the ions in the compound must balance out. We
always[3] know the charges on the ions from the periodic table. So the next stage is to determine
the correct ratio of ions that will produce charge neutrality. Basically the total number of positive
charges must equal the total number of negative charges. The document Type 1 Compounds
provides guidance in this.
Elements with variable ionic charge

We have shown that the periodic table can be used to predict ionic charges. However, there are
some elements that are not susceptible to this approach. Some of the heavier A-type elements
like tin and lead show two ionic charge possibilities: Sn2+ and Sn4+; Pb2+ and Pb4+. In writing the
formula we would identify the state by writing Sn(II) or Sn(IV).
The transition metals also show a high degree of variable ionic charges: Cr2+, Cr3+, Cr4+, Fe2+,
Fe3+, Cu+, Cu2+ and so on. You are not expected to remember all of these different ions, but be
able to predict a composition if given the ion, and write the composition with the correct
notation.

Covalent bonding
The ionic bonding model works very well for metals and non-metals, but for compounds made
exclusively from non-metals, which dominate chemistry in terms of numbers, it fails completely.
This is because non-metals form negative ions and never positive ions. It would also be
impossible to describe the bond between the atoms in the diatomic elements like F2, O2 and N2
using the ionic model.

In these elements and compounds, covalent bonding operates.

A covalent HH bond is the net result of attractive and repulsive electrostatic forces. The
nucleuselectron attractions (blue arrows) are greater than the nucleusnucleus and electron
electron repulsions (red arrows), resulting in a net attractive force that holds the atoms together
to form an H2 molecule.

The sharing of electrons effectively increases the electron count around the atom. Alone, each
fluorine atom has seven electrons in the outer shell. Sharing two electrons in a single covalent
bond means that each atom now appears to have eight it has satisfied its octet demand.
The same principle applies to describing bonds between unlike atoms, such as hydrogen and
oxygen in water.

Note that the O atom has achieved its octet by sharing one electron from each of two H atoms to
supplement the six valence electrons it already has.
Multiple bonds

For some molecules, the sharing of two electrons is not sufficient to satisfy the octets of the
atoms. Consider the series F2, O2 and N2. The elements are in groups 7A, 6A and 5A respectively.
The atoms have 7, 6 and 5 electrons in the valence shell respectively. It seems pretty obvious
that, if the sharing of two electrons in F2 satisfied the octet, then the sharing of two electrons will
not do so in O2 or N2. However, more electrons can be shared, leading to multiple covalent
bonds.

O2 has double bond

N2 has triple bond one of the strongest in chemistry

N2 is very stable and unreactive also the major product from


explosives

Naming and writing formulas of covalently bonded compounds between non-metals is discussed
in the document Type 3 Compounds.

Ternary compounds
So far we have discussed compounds that involve only two elements bonded by either ionic or
covalent bonds. There is a class of compounds, many of them very familiar, which contain more
than two elements and also both ionic and covalent bonding. The compound is an ionic
compound which contains either or perhaps both ions in the form of a polyatomic ion held
together by covalent bonds.

Most polyatomic ions are negatively charged; only the hydronium ion and the ammonium ion are
positively charged. The rules for balancing the charges in compounds containing polyatomic ions
are the same as for binary ionic compounds. The composition of the polyatomic ion does not
change at all.

[1]

Available in the content section of the Anlon course

[2]

Available in the content section of the Anlon course

[3]

There are some exceptions to this for the A group elements, and the transition metal ions cannot be predicted.

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