Which of the following best describes the Lewis dot structure for the neutral compound NBr3?

• A. Nitrogen is at the center with three double bonds to bromine atoms and no lone pairs on nitrogen.
• B. Nitrogen is at the center with three single bonds to bromine atoms and one lone pair on nitrogen.
• C. Nitrogen is at the center with three single bonds to bromine atoms and three lone pairs on nitrogen.
• D. Nitrogen is at the center with three single bonds to bromine atoms and no lone pairs on nitrogen.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Identify the total number of valence electrons for the molecule NBr\_3. Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons, and each bromine atom has 7 valence electrons. Since there are three bromine atoms, calculate the total valence electrons as 5 + 3 \times 7.
2. Step 2: Determine the central atom. Nitrogen is less electronegative than bromine, so nitrogen will be the central atom with bromine atoms surrounding it.
3. Step 3: Connect the nitrogen atom to each bromine atom with single bonds. Each single bond represents 2 electrons shared between atoms.
4. Step 4: Distribute the remaining valence electrons to complete the octets of the bromine atoms first, since they are terminal atoms. Each bromine should have three lone pairs (6 electrons) after bonding.
5. Step 5: Place any leftover electrons on the central nitrogen atom as lone pairs. Check that nitrogen has a complete octet (8 electrons total) by counting the bonding electrons and lone pairs around it.