Question

Write the singly bonded Lewis dot structure for BF3. Which of the following statements best describes this structure? a. It has a lone pair of electrons on the boron atom. b. It has less than an octet on at least one atom c. It obeys the octet rule on all atoms d. It has less than an octet of electrons on all atoms. e. It exceeds the octet rule

Answer 1

The Lewis dot structure for BF3 shows boron with three single bonds to fluorine atoms and six valence electrons, making option b, 'It has less than an octet on at least one atom,' the best description.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Lewis dot structure for BF3 (boron trifluoride) involves three single bonds between the central boron atom and three fluorine atoms. Each fluorine atom has three pairs of non-bonding electrons, while the boron atom has zero non-bonding electrons, resulting in an incomplete octet for boron. According to this single-bonded structure, the central boron atom is surrounded by only six valence electrons.

The statement that best describes this structure is: b. It has less than an octet on at least one atom. This is consistent with the molecular behavior and bond lengths observed for BF3, as the boron atom in this compound is electron-deficient and does not follow the octet rule.