Lewis Dot Structure Calculator Wolfram

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  3. Apr 01, 2013 Lewis structures are a way to write chemical compounds where all the atoms and electrons are shown. Sometimes, people have a lot of trouble learning how to do this. However, using the methods on this page, you should have very little trouble.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell which of two possible Lewis structures of a compound represents the actual bonding of the molecule. In those cases we resort to calculating what's called the formal charge of each atom. Formal charge is just a way of bookkeeping that helps us to decide which of multiple Lewis structures is the likely true bonding arrangement of a covalent molecule. The sum of the formal charges, with a couple of extra rules, will help us to decide which of multiple-possible valid Lewis structures is likely to be the correct one. Here's how it's done.

Calculating formal charge

For each atom

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Lewis Dot Structure Calculator Wolfram Algebra

  1. Count the number of valence electrons of the neutral atom.

  2. Subtract the number of non-bonding electrons (usually in lone pairs).

  3. Subtract the number of bonds shared by the atom.

Lewis Dot Structure Calculator Wolfram Formula

Example: CH4 (methane)

The carbon in CH4 has four electrons as a neutral atom. It has no lone pairs, and it shares four bonds, so the formal charge is zero. Each hydrogen atom has one electron as a neutral atom, no lone pairs and shares one bond, for a formal charge of zero. All atoms in the molecule have zero formal charge, the 'happiest' situation for any molecule.

Lewis dot structure calculator wolfram equationStructure

Example: H3C(CO)CH3, (acetone)

Lewis Dot Structure Generator

The central carbon has a formal charge of 4 (valence electrons) - 0 (lone pairs) - 4 (bonds) = 0. The oxygen has a formal charge of 6 - 4 - 2 = 0 (same ordering of terms). Each of the methyl (CH3) carbons has a formal charge of 4 - 0 - 4 = 0