Final answer:
The Lewis structure for the bicarbonate ion typically shows 10 bonding electrons, which include 4 electrons in two carbon-oxygen single bonds, 4 electrons in one carbon-oxygen double bond, and 2 electrons in a carbon-hydrogen single bond.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the number of bonding electrons in the Lewis structure for the bicarbonate ion (HCO₃−).
The bicarbonate ion is related to carbonate, but it has one more hydrogen atom and one less negative charge.
In the Lewis structure for the bicarbonate ion, there are multiple bonding arrangements possible due to resonance.
However, a typical representation will show one carbon-oxygen double bond and two carbon-oxygen single bonds.
Considering that each single bond represents two bonding electrons and each double bond represents four bonding electrons:
For each carbon-oxygen single bond: 2 electrons × 2 = 4 electrons.
For the carbon-oxygen double bond: 4 electrons.
For the carbon-hydrogen single bond: 2 electrons.
Adding these up gives us a total of 10 bonding electrons shown in the Lewis structure for the bicarbonate ion.