Question

How do you determine how many dots to put around the Lewis symbol of an element?

a) Equal to its group number
b) Equal to its period number
c) Equal to its atomic number
d) Equal to its atomic mass

Answer 1

To determine the number of dots to put around the Lewis symbol of an element, you need to consider the number of valence electrons it has.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how many dots to put around the Lewis symbol of an element, you need to consider the number of valence electrons it has. Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom. To write an element's Lewis symbol, you place dots representing its valence electrons, one at a time, around the element's chemical symbol. The number of dots around the symbol corresponds to the number of valence electrons. For example, if an element has 4 valence electrons, you would place 4 dots around its Lewis symbol.