Final answer:
The Lewis symbol for silicon correctly has four dots around the atomic symbol 'Si', representing its four valence electrons. These dots are placed on the four sides of the symbol, each side having not more than two dots, making it clear that silicon's Lewis symbol does not have eight dots as it might incorrectly be assumed.
Step-by-step explanation:
When creating the Lewis symbol for silicon, one must consider the valence electrons, which are the electrons in the outermost shell of an atom. Silicon, being in group 14 of the periodic table, has four valence electrons. Therefore, its Lewis symbol will have four dots placed around the symbol Si to represent these electrons.
Since the octet rule states that elements tend to form compounds in ways that give them eight valence electrons, achieving a noble gas configuration, some might mistakenly say that the Lewis symbol of silicon has eight dots. However, the Lewis symbol only represents the valence electrons that the atom has in its neutral state, not the ones it may gain or share when it forms compounds. Therefore, the correct Lewis symbol for silicon would only have four dots around the Si symbol, signifying its four valence electrons.
The commonly accepted method for representing these dots is to position them on any of the four sides of the atomic symbol, with no more than two dots per side, until four valence electrons are used. If an element has more than four valence electrons, then the additional dots are paired with the first four, adhering to the octet rule. However, in the case of silicon, there are only four valence electrons to depict, so each side will have just a single dot.