Draw the Lewis Structure for Br2

To draw the Lewis structure for bromine gas (Br₂), we need to follow a few simple steps.

1. **Count the Valence Electrons**: Each bromine (Br) atom has 7 valence electrons. Since there are two bromine atoms in Br₂, we multiply 7 by 2, giving us a total of 14 valence electrons to work with.

2. **Determine the Central Atom**: In the case of Br₂, both atoms are the same, so we can place them next to each other without a designated central atom.

3. **Form Bonds**: We place a single bond between the two bromine atoms. A single bond consists of 2 electrons, which leaves us with 12 valence electrons (14 – 2 = 12).

4. **Distribute the Remaining Electrons**: Each bromine atom needs to achieve an octet (8 electrons). We can place 6 electrons as lone pairs around each bromine atom. After placing these 6 electrons on each atom (3 lone pairs per atom), we have used 12 of our valence electrons (2 for the bond + 6 for each bromine = 14 total).

5. **Check the Octet Rule**: Each bromine now has 8 electrons: 2 from the bond and 6 from the lone pairs. Therefore, the structure satisfies the octet rule for both atoms.

The final Lewis structure of Br₂ can be represented as:

   :Br: - :Br:

Each ‘:’ represents a lone pair of electrons, demonstrating that both bromine atoms are surrounded by 6 additional electrons after forming a bond.