Chemical Bonding: ClO^- Lewis Structure

Drawing the Lewis Structure for ClO^-

Viewing Notes:

• The Lewis structure for ClO^- is fairly straightforward.
• Remember to count the negative sign as an additional valence electron in the Lewis structure for ClO^-
• There are a total of 14 valence electrons for ClO^-.
• You'll want to calculate the formal charges on each atom to make sure you have the best Lewis structure for ClO^-. They should add up to -1 (just like the charge on the molecule).
• Remember to put brackets around the Lewis structure, along with a negative sign, to show that it is an ion.

Transcript: Let's do the ClO- Lewis structure. Chlorine has 7 valence electrons. Oxygen has 6, and this means we have one extra valence electron for a total of 14 valence electrons. Put the Chlorine here and then the Oxygen next to it. Put two valence electrons between them to form the bond, and then around the outside. So we have 2, 4, 6, 8, come over here, 10, 12, 14. So we've used all 14 of the valence electrons. Both of the atoms have octets. And if you check your formal charges, you'll see they add up to zero.

This is Dr. B. with the Lewis structure for ClO-, and thanks for watching.