select the lewis structure that most accurately represents sulfur difluoride (sf₂). refer to a periodic table.
select the lewis structure that most accurately represents sulfur difluoride (sf₂). refer to a periodic table.
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Determine valence electrons
Sulfur (S) has 6 valence electrons and each fluorine (F) has 7 valence electrons. In $SF_2$, the total number of valence electrons is $6 + 2\times7=20$.
Step2: Place the central atom
Sulfur is the central atom as it is less electronegative than fluorine.
Step3: Connect atoms with single - bonds
Connect sulfur to each fluorine with a single - bond. Each single - bond uses 2 electrons, so 4 electrons are used in the $S - F$ bonds.
Step4: Distribute remaining electrons
We have $20 - 4 = 16$ electrons remaining. Place these electrons as lone - pairs on the atoms to satisfy the octet rule. Each fluorine gets 3 lone - pairs and sulfur gets 2 lone - pairs. The correct Lewis structure has sulfur as the central atom with single bonds to two fluorine atoms and 2 lone - pairs on sulfur and 3 lone - pairs on each fluorine.
Answer:
The second structure from the top (where S is the central atom, single - bonded to two F atoms and has 2 lone - pairs on S and 3 lone - pairs on each F) is the correct Lewis structure for sulfur difluoride ($SF_2$).