The Lewis dot structure for H2CO (formaldehyde) is a representation of the molecule’s valence electrons. Here’s how it looks:
1. Carbon (C) is the central atom, surrounded by two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom.
2. Carbon has 4 valence electrons, each hydrogen has 1, and oxygen has 6.
3. The carbon atom forms a double bond with the oxygen atom and single bonds with the two hydrogen atoms.
4. The Lewis structure shows the double bond between carbon and oxygen as two pairs of shared electrons, and the single bonds between carbon and hydrogen as one pair of shared electrons each.
5. The oxygen atom also has two lone pairs of electrons.
Here is the Lewis dot structure for H2CO:
H
|
H—C=O
This structure helps in understanding the bonding and electron distribution in the formaldehyde molecule.