How many lone pairs are in a chlorite ion (CLO2)- ?
To determine the number of lone pairs in a chlorite ion (CLO2)-, we first need to determine the Lewis structure of the ion.
1. Start by counting the total number of valence electrons in the chlorite ion. Chlorine contributes 7 electrons (since it is in Group 7/17 of the periodic table) and each oxygen contributes 6 electrons (since oxygen is in Group 6/16 and there are two oxygen atoms in the ion). The negative charge of -1 means we have an extra electron.
Chlorine: 7 electrons
Oxygen (x2): 6 electrons each = 12 electrons
Extra electron: 1 electron
Total valence electrons = 7 + 12 + 1 = 20 electrons
2. Place one oxygen atom in the center and connect it to the chlorine atom. Place the other oxygen atom on one side.
O
//
Cl
\
O
3. Distribute the remaining electrons, filling the octet of each atom except for the central oxygen atom.
O
//
Cl
\
O
4. Place any remaining electrons on the central atom. In this case, central atom oxygen already has more than an octet, so it will not have any lone pairs.
O
//
Cl
\
O
5. Count the number of lone pairs by determining the number of unshared electron pairs around the central atom. In this case, oxygen has one lone pair.
O
//
Cl
\
O
Therefore, there is one lone pair in the chlorite ion (CLO2)-.
To determine the number of lone pairs in a chlorite ion (ClO2)-, we need to examine its Lewis dot structure.
First, let's determine the total number of valence electrons for the chlorite ion. We can do this by adding up the valence electrons of each atom.
Chlorine (Cl) has 7 valence electrons, while each oxygen (O) atom has 6 valence electrons. Since there are two oxygen atoms in the chlorite ion, the total valence electrons will be:
7 (valence electrons of Cl) + 6 (valence electrons of each O) * 2 (number of O atoms) + 1 (extra electron due to the -1 charge on the ion) = 7 + 12 + 1 = 20.
Now, let's draw the Lewis structure of the chlorite ion, taking into account all the valence electrons.
O
/
Cl-O-O
In the Lewis structure, the chlorine atom is the central atom since it's less electronegative than oxygen. Each oxygen atom is bonded to the chlorine atom by a single bond. We place the remaining valence electrons around the atoms, obeying the octet rule (except for hydrogen and helium, which follow the duet rule).
O
/
Cl-O-O
Each oxygen atom has a lone pair of electrons that are not involved in any bonding. Therefore, in the chlorite ion, there are two lone pairs of electrons.
In summary, the chlorite ion (ClO2)- has two lone pairs of electrons.