which is the correct lewis structure for carbon dioxide?

which is the correct lewis structure for carbon dioxide?

which is the correct lewis structure for carbon dioxide?

Answer

Brief Explanations:

Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) has 16 total valence electrons: 4 from C, 6 from each O. Carbon forms two double bonds with oxygen atoms, and each oxygen has 2 lone pairs (4 non-bonding electrons) to satisfy the octet rule. The first option correctly shows this structure with two C=O double bonds and 4 lone electrons on each oxygen, while the others either have incorrect bonding, missing lone pairs, or the wrong central atom.

Answer:

  1. $\ce{O=C=O}$ (with 4 non-bonding electrons on each oxygen atom as shown in the topmost option)