Input interpretation
quartz | structure diagram
Result
Draw the Lewis structure of quartz. Start by drawing the overall structure of the molecule, ignoring potential double and triple bonds: Count the total valence electrons of the oxygen (n_O, val = 6) and silicon (n_Si, val = 4) atoms: 2 n_O, val + n_Si, val = 16 Calculate the number of electrons needed to completely fill the valence shells for oxygen (n_O, full = 8) and silicon (n_Si, full = 8): 2 n_O, full + n_Si, full = 24 Subtracting these two numbers shows that 24 - 16 = 8 bonding electrons are needed. Each bond has two electrons, so in addition to the 2 bonds already present in the diagram add 2 bonds. To minimize formal charge oxygen wants 2 bonds and silicon wants 4 bonds. Identify the atoms that want additional bonds and the number of electrons remaining on each atom: Fill in the 2 bonds by pairing electrons between adjacent highlighted atoms: Answer: | |