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Lewis Structure Question?
What is the rule for deciding which element to use as the center element? The species I am working with is NH3O. I thought that I read that hydrogen can never be the center. But how do you decide between the oxygen and the nitrogen? In my notes it says to use the one with the lowest electronegativity. How do you know which one is lower? Can someone please explain this? Thank you in advance for your help.
3 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
you need to follow the octet rule.
you are correct, hydrogen and fluorine are never in the middle.
with NH3O, N is your central atom, in other words whatever element is first it becomes your center atom, with the exception of Hydrogen and Fluorine of course
you need an electronegativity chart, to the right of the periodic table, the electronegavity is highest.
as you go down a column it decreases
- hcbiochemLv 71 decade ago
You can always find a table of electronegativities and look them up. If you cannot find or use a table of electronegativities, the periodic table can be your guide. Fluorine (upper right on the periodic table) has the highest electronegativity, with the value decreasing both to the left and downward from fluorine.
But generally, oxygen will not be the central atom, but some other non-metal will be. You're right that hydrogen cannot be, because it can only form one bond with one other atom.
