Lewis Rules Answers

Here are the answers for the Lewis Dot Structures on the Lewis' Rules page:

 

Note: There is some disagreement over the correct Lewis Dot Structure for sulfate. You will find both of the above structures listed in text books or on-line as correct. 

The first structure (on the left) follows Lewis' rules and makes sense in terms of the 3-dimensional structure of the ion.

The structure on the right follows the rules of Formal Charge (an introduction to which can be found here). 

In the end, the lesson to learn is that Lewis Dot Structures are NOT truth and that bonding is much more complex and involved than can be taught in a single unit of a first year chemistry class.