What is the lewis structure of NH4Br?
Here are the steps that I follow when drawing a Lewis structure.
Decide which atom is the central atom in the structure.
Draw a skeleton structure in which the other atoms are single-bonded to the central atom.
Draw a trial structure by putting electron pairs around every atom until each gets an octet.
Count the in your trial structure.
Now, count the you actually have available.
Add or remove electrons in the trial structure to match the available electrons.
Assign formal charges to each atom.
NH₄Br is an ionic compound. It consists of NH₄⁺ ions and Br⁻ ions. We must draw separate Lewis structures for these ions.
Lewis Structure of NH₄⁺
The trial structure is
The trial structure contains 8 electrons.
Electrons available = 5 + 4(1) – 1 = 8. The trial structure is the correct structure.
Formal charges: N = 5 – ½(8) = +1; H = 1 – ½(2) = 0.
The Lewis structure of NH₄⁺ is
Lewis Structure of Br⁻
The trial structure is
The trial structure contains 8 electrons.
Electrons available = 7 + 1 = 8.
The trial structure is the correct structure. The formal charge is -1.
The Lewis structure of Br⁻ is
Lewis Structure of NH₄Br
We write the two structures side by side. The Lewis structure is