Draw the Lewis dot structure for tellurium dioxide, TeO
. The bonding can be best described as: A single bond and a triple bond A single bond a double bond Two double bonds Two single bonds
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To draw the Lewis dot structure for tellurium dioxide (TeO2), let’s follow these steps:
- Count the valence electrons:
- Tellurium (Te) is in Group 16, so it has 6 valence electrons.
- Oxygen (O) is also in Group 16, and each oxygen atom has 6 valence electrons.
- For TeO2, there are 6 + (2 × 6) = 18 valence electrons to account for.
- Determine the skeleton structure:
- Since Te is less electronegative than O, Te will be the central atom, and the two O atoms will be bonded to it.
- Distribute the electrons:
- Place single bonds between Te and each O atom. Each single bond uses 2 electrons (1 from Te and 1 from O).
- This consumes 4 electrons (2 electrons per bond × 2 bonds).
- Complete the octets for oxygen atoms:
- Each oxygen atom now has 2 electrons from the single bond. To complete the octet, we need to add 6 more electrons to each oxygen atom. So, each O gets 3 lone pairs (3 × 2 = 6 electrons).
- Allocate remaining electrons to Te:
- After distributing electrons to the oxygen atoms, there are 18 − 4 − 12 = 2 electrons left. These 2 electrons should be placed as a lone pair on the central tellurium atom.
- Check for double bonds:
- To ensure all atoms have full octets, we recognize that Te can form a double bond with each O atom. The extra lone pair electrons on the O atoms are shared, forming double bonds with Te.
- Final structure:
- The final structure consists of two double bonds between Te and the two O atoms, with 2 lone pairs on Te and 2 lone pairs on each O.
So, the correct answer is: Two double bonds.
Explanation:
Tellurium dioxide (TeO2) has a central Te atom double-bonded to two oxygen atoms. The double bonds help satisfy the octet rule for oxygen, and tellurium can accommodate more than 8 electrons in its valence shell, as it’s in the 4th period of the periodic table. The resulting structure is stable, with all atoms satisfying their
