Chemistry / Unit 6 Chem 0985 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Lewis Symbol
Captions available
The idea
A Lewis symbol shows an element's symbol surrounded by dots, each dot representing one of its valence electrons.
In practice
Oxygen's Lewis symbol shows its symbol surrounded by six dots, matching its six valence electrons.
Where people slip
A Lewis symbol counts only valence electrons; core electrons never appear as dots, no matter how many the atom holds.
Your place on the trail
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