Question

Draw the Lewis structure for SF2. Draw the molecule by placing atoms on the grid and connecting them with bonds. Include all lone pairs of electrons. To change the symbol of an atom, double-click on the atom and enter the letter of the new atom.

Answer 1

Sulfur and Fluorine are nonmetals so they will form covalent bonds to gain stability. To do so, they will follow the octet rule: they will share enough electrons so as to have their valence shell complete with 8 electrons.

Sulfur is in the Group 16 in the Periodic Table and has 6 valence electrons. Thus it must share 2 pairs of electrons to reach the octet.

Fluorine is in the Group 17 in the Periodic Table so each F has 7 valence electrons. Thus, each F needs to share 1 pair of electrons to reach the octet.

As a consequence, they will be bonded in the order F - S - F, with a single bond between each pair of atoms.