Question

Draw the best Lewis structure of CH3NO2, a neutral compound. Draw the Lewis structure by placing atoms on the grid and connecting them with bonds. Include all lone pairs of electrons and nonzero formal charges.

Answer 1

Answer :  The Lewis-dot structure of $CH_3NO_2$ is shown below.

Explanation :

Lewis-dot structure : It shows the bonding between the atoms of a molecule and it also shows the unpaired electrons present in the molecule.

In the Lewis-dot structure the valance electrons are shown by 'dot'.

The given molecule is, $CH_3NO_2$

As we know that carbon has '4' valence electrons, hydrogen has '1' valence electron, nitrogen has '5' valence electrons and oxygen has '6' valence electrons.

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons in $CH_3NO_2$ = 4 + 3(1) + 5 + 2(6) = 24

According to Lewis-dot structure, there are 14 number of bonding electrons and 10 number of non-bonding electrons.

Now we have to determine the formal charge for each atom.

Formula for formal charge :

$\text{Formal charge}=\text{Valence electrons}-\text{Non-bonding electrons}-\frac{\text{Bonding electrons}}{2}$

$\text{Formal charge on C}=4-0-\frac{8}{2}=0$

$\text{Formal charge on N}=5-2-\frac{6}{2}=0$

$\text{Formal charge on }H_1=1-0-\frac{2}{2}=0$

$\text{Formal charge on }H_2=1-0-\frac{2}{2}=0$

$\text{Formal charge on }H_3=1-0-\frac{2}{2}=0$

$\text{Formal charge on }O_1=6-6-\frac{2}{2}=-2$

$\text{Formal charge on }O_2=6-6-\frac{2}{2}=-2$

Hence, the Lewis-dot structure of $CH_3NO_2$ is shown below.