Final answer:
The request was to draw a Lewis dot diagram for the combustion of methane, where methane and oxygen react to form carbon dioxide and water. The Lewis structures show the sharing of electrons between atoms and which bonds are broken or formed during this chemical reaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked to draw a Lewis dot diagram for the reaction where methane (CH4) reacts with oxygen (O2) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). This is a combustion reaction.
To draw a Lewis dot diagram for the methane (CH4) combustion reaction, we must understand that methane has one carbon atom at the center with four hydrogen atoms attached, and every atom shares electrons to form four covalent bonds. Oxygen molecules (O2) consist of two oxygen atoms double-bonded to each other. When we illustrate the reaction, we show the breaking of C-H bonds in methane and O=O bonds in oxygen. New bonds form to create CO2, where the carbon atom is double-bonded to two oxygen atoms, and water (H2O), where each hydrogen atom forms a single bond with the oxygen atom. The single bond in H2O is represented as -OH in shorthand.
An understanding of these structures and how electrons are shared during the reaction helps us assess what bonds are broken and what bonds are formed during the combustion of methane, which is an important concept in chemical reactions and stoichiometry.