Final answer:
Lewis structures for molecules like XeF2 and XeF6 involve xenon with expanded octets. XeF2 has three lone pairs and two bonds to fluorine, while XeF6 forms six bonds to fluorine with one lone pair on the xenon.
Step-by-step explanation:
Drawing Lewis Structures for Xenon Compounds
When drawing Lewis structures for molecules with xenon as the central atom, such as XeF2 and XeF6, we must account for expanded octets.
Xenon can have more than eight electrons in its outer shell due to empty valence shell d orbitals. In the case of XeF2, the Lewis structure will have xenon in the center with two fluorine atoms bonded to it and three lone pairs of electrons on the xenon.
Consequently, the structure is :F-Xe-F: with the lone pairs indicated around the Xe atom.
For XeF6, xenon contributes eight valence electrons and each of the six fluorine atoms contributes seven.
After forming six Xe-F bonds, there are still some electrons left which become a lone pair on the Xe atom.
This results in a structure with a total of 12 electrons, or six pairs, around the xenon atom, including one lone pair.