Chemistry Form 4: Chapter 5 - Lewis Dot Structure of Covalent Compound

Lewis structures are diagrams that show the bonding between atoms of a molecule and the lone pairs of electrons that may exist in the molecule. A Lewis structure can be drawn for any covalently bonded molecule, as well as coordination compounds. They are similar to electron dot diagrams in that the valence electrons in lone pairs are represented as dots, but they also contain lines to represent shared pairs in a chemical bond (single, double, triple, etc.).

Lewis structures show each atom and its position in the structure of the molecule using its chemical symbol. Lines are drawn between atoms that are bonded to one another (pairs of dots can be used instead of lines). Excess electrons that form lone pairs are represented as pairs of dots, and are placed next to the atoms.

Click on the diagram below to play!