Which of the following statements correctly describes the Lewis dot structure of OF2 (oxygen difluoride)?

• A. The oxygen atom has no lone pairs and forms triple bonds with each fluorine atom.
• B. The oxygen atom has one lone pair and forms double bonds with each fluorine atom.
• C. The oxygen atom has two lone pairs and forms single bonds with each fluorine atom.
• D. Each fluorine atom forms a double bond with oxygen and has two lone pairs.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Determine the total number of valence electrons for OF2. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons, and each fluorine has 7 valence electrons, so total valence electrons = 6 + 2 \times 7 = 20 electrons.
2. Step 2: Draw the skeletal structure with oxygen as the central atom bonded to two fluorine atoms. Connect each fluorine to oxygen with a single bond initially.
3. Step 3: Distribute the remaining valence electrons to satisfy the octet rule for the fluorine atoms first, placing lone pairs around each fluorine until they have 8 electrons total (including bonding electrons).
4. Step 4: Assign the remaining electrons to the oxygen atom as lone pairs. Since oxygen started with 6 valence electrons and shares two single bonds (2 electrons each), the leftover electrons will form lone pairs on oxygen.
5. Step 5: Confirm that all atoms have a complete octet and check the bonding: oxygen will have two lone pairs and form single bonds with each fluorine, while each fluorine will have three lone pairs and a single bond to oxygen.