Magnesium And Nitrogen Lewis Dot Structure

The Lewis dot structure for the compound magnesium nitride (Mg3N2) can be determined by following these steps:

1. Determine the total number of valence electrons in the molecule.

- Magnesium has 2 valence electrons, and there are three magnesium atoms in the molecule, so the total number of valence electrons contributed by magnesium is 6.

- Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons, and there are two nitrogen atoms in the molecule, so the total number of valence electrons contributed by nitrogen is 10.

- The total number of valence electrons in the molecule is therefore 16.

2. Determine the central atom and draw the skeletal structure.

- Magnesium is the least electronegative element in the molecule, so it will be the central atom.

- The skeletal structure for Mg3N2 is Mg-N-Mg-N-Mg.

3. Distribute the remaining valence electrons as lone pairs around the atoms.

- Each magnesium atom has a complete octet with 8 valence electrons (2 from its own valence electrons and 6 from the nitrogen atoms). These electrons are represented as bonding pairs between magnesium and nitrogen atoms.

- Each nitrogen atom has 3 lone pairs and one bonding pair with magnesium to complete the octet.

4. Check the formal charges of each atom to ensure that they are minimized.

- The formal charge of an atom is calculated by subtracting the number of non-bonded electrons plus half the number of bonded electrons from the total number of valence electrons.

- In this case, the formal charge on each magnesium atom is zero since it has two bonding pairs and no lone pairs.

- The formal charge on each nitrogen atom is also zero.

Therefore, the Lewis dot structure for magnesium nitride is:

:Mg: :N: :Mg:

:: / \ ::

:: :N: :N: ::

:Mg: \ / :Mg:

Note: The dots between the atoms represent valence electrons, and the colons represent electron pairs that are shared in a bond.