The Lewis dot structure for copper involves representing the valence electrons of the copper atom. Copper, with an atomic number of 29, has the electron configuration of [Ar] 3d10 4s1. This means that copper has one electron in its outermost shell from the 4s subshell and a filled 3d subshell. In its Lewis structure, we represent the valence electrons as dots around the symbol for copper.
For copper, you would place a single dot next to the symbol ‘Cu’ to represent the one valence electron in the 4s subshell. The filled 3d subshell does not contribute additional dots in the Lewis structure, as it is not involved in bonding in the same way as the outermost electrons. Therefore, the Lewis dot structure for copper can simply be represented as:
Cu·
This notation highlights the single valence electron that can participate in chemical bonding, which is crucial for understanding copper’s chemistry and its various oxidation states.