Which of the following statements correctly describes the Lewis dot structure of NF₃?

• A. Nitrogen is bonded to two fluorine atoms and has two lone pairs of electrons.
• B. Nitrogen is bonded to three fluorine atoms and has no lone pairs of electrons.
• C. Nitrogen is bonded to three fluorine atoms and has one lone pair of electrons.
• D. Nitrogen is bonded to four fluorine atoms and has no lone pairs of electrons.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Determine the total number of valence electrons for NF₃. Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons, and each fluorine (F) has 7 valence electrons. Since there are three fluorine atoms, calculate the total as \$5 + 3 \times 7$.
2. Step 2: Draw the skeletal structure with nitrogen as the central atom bonded to three fluorine atoms. This is because nitrogen is less electronegative than fluorine and typically forms the central atom in such molecules.
3. Step 3: Assign bonding electrons by placing a single bond (2 electrons) between nitrogen and each fluorine atom. This accounts for \$3 \times 2 = 6$ electrons used in bonding.
4. Step 4: Distribute the remaining valence electrons as lone pairs to complete the octets of the fluorine atoms first, since fluorine atoms require 8 electrons around them to be stable.
5. Step 5: Place any leftover electrons on the nitrogen atom as lone pairs. Then, check that nitrogen has a complete octet by counting bonding and lone pair electrons around it. This will confirm the number of lone pairs on nitrogen.