Lone Pairs

Part of the Structure and Bonding section of Coddy's Chemistry journey. Lesson 12 of 49.

A lone pair belongs to one atom and is not shared. It counts toward the 8.

Ammonia: N bonded to three H, with one lone pair on N

Ammonia, NH₃: three bonds, one lone pair

N: 3 bonds, 1 lone pair. O: 2 bonds, 2 lone pairs. Halogens: 1 bond, 3 lone pairs. C: 4 bonds, none.

Lone pairs take up space around an atom: they shape the molecule.

Challenge

Oxygen difluoride, OF₂, is a pale yellow gas. Draw its Lewis structure, every lone pair included.

Try it yourself

Lewis boardDraw the Lewis structure of OF₂

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Structure and Bonding

2Covalent Bonds

5Forces Between Molecules

8Practice Problems

3Shapes of Molecules

6Metals and Giant Structures