To draw the Lewis structure of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), follow these steps:
1. **Count the total number of valence electrons**: Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons, and each oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons. Therefore, the total number of valence electrons is 5 + (2 × 6) = 17.
2. **Determine the central atom**: Nitrogen is the central atom because it is less electronegative than oxygen.
3. **Draw the skeletal structure**: Place the nitrogen atom in the center and connect it to the two oxygen atoms with single bonds.
4. **Distribute the remaining electrons**: After forming the single bonds, you have used 4 electrons (2 for each bond). The remaining 13 electrons are distributed as lone pairs. Place 6 electrons (3 lone pairs) on each oxygen atom. This leaves 1 electron, which is placed on the nitrogen atom as a lone electron.
5. **Check for octet rule**: Nitrogen has only 7 electrons around it (5 from bonds and 2 from the lone electron), which does not satisfy the octet rule. To resolve this, one of the oxygen atoms forms a double bond with nitrogen, sharing an additional pair of electrons. This results in one oxygen atom with a double bond and the other with a single bond.
6. **Final Lewis structure**: The final Lewis structure of NO2 has one nitrogen atom double-bonded to one oxygen atom and single-bonded to another oxygen atom. The oxygen with the single bond has three lone pairs, and the nitrogen has one lone electron.