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Lewis Dot Structures: Ions (Simplified) definitions

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  • Cation
    A positively charged species formed by the loss of one or more valence electrons.
  • Anion
    A negatively charged species resulting from the gain of one or more valence electrons.
  • Valence Electrons
    Outer shell electrons used to determine bonding and the total electron count in Lewis structures.
  • Octet Rule
    Guideline stating that atoms tend to surround themselves with eight electrons for stability.
  • Duet Rule
    Special case for hydrogen, which achieves stability with only two electrons, similar to helium.
  • Electronegativity
    A measure of an atom's tendency to attract shared electrons in a chemical bond.
  • Central Atom
    The least electronegative element placed at the center when constructing a Lewis structure.
  • Single Bond
    A connection between two atoms involving one shared pair of electrons.
  • Brackets
    Symbols used to enclose the entire Lewis structure of an ion, indicating its charged state.
  • Charge
    A numerical indication, placed outside brackets, showing if a structure is positive or negative.
  • Group Number
    A value from the periodic table used to determine the number of valence electrons for each element.
  • Bonding Preferences
    Guidelines that help predict how many bonds an atom typically forms in a molecule.
  • Lewis Dot Structure
    A diagram showing the arrangement of valence electrons around atoms and bonds in a molecule or ion.