Question

How do you use electron dot notation to illustrate the number of valence electrons present in one atom?

Answer 1

Electron dot notation is a way of denoting the valence number of electrons present in the atom. It is also called the Lewis dot structure. A dot on the symbol of an element represents a valence electron.

Complete step by step answer:
Electron dot structures or Lewis dot formula can be drawn if the molecular formula of the compound is known.
The number of valence electrons can be easily determined by locating which column the element belongs to. Elements present in the left-most column which are called alkali metals have one valence electron. On moving right in the table, each column adds one more valence electron. The number of valence electrons can be known by writing an electron configuration for the element.
The number of valence electrons can be found out by the number of dots present around the symbol of an element.
The electrons present on the element determines the number of valence electrons present in one atom. This is which they share to achieve a stable configuration and stability and form compounds.
This is how the electron dot notation is used to illustrate the number of valence electrons present in one atom.

Additional information:
For the Lewis symbol for an atom, the chemical symbol of the element which is on the periodic table is written, and the valence electrons are represented as dots surrounding it.

Note: A Lewis Electron Dot Formula denotes one dot for every valence electron and an element’s symbol. The skeletal form shows a real bonding pattern by means of only the element symbols. The Lewis symbol for carbon atoms has four electrons.