Draw the electron dot formula for silicon disulfide,SiS₂.How many nonbonding electron pairs are in a silicon disulfide molecule?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The electron dot formula for SiS₂ is:

:Si: ::S::S:

Each dot represents a valence electron. Silicon has 4 valence electrons and sulfur has 6 valence electrons.

To form a stable compound, silicon shares its electrons with two sulfur atoms to form two covalent bonds.

The dots in between the atoms represent the shared pairs of electrons:

:Si:::S:::S:

This gives each sulfur atom 8 electrons (2 in the inner shell and 6 in the outer shell), and silicon 10 electrons (2 in the inner shell and 8 in the outer shell).

To determine the number of nonbonding electron pairs, we subtract the number of electrons in the bonds and lone pairs from the total number of valence electrons. In this case:

Total valence electrons = 4 (from silicon) + 2 x 6 (from sulfur) = 16

Number of electrons in bonds = 2 x 2 (from Si–S bonds) = 4

Number of electrons in lone pairs = 16 - 4 - 4 = 8

Therefore, there are a total of 8 nonbonding electron pairs in a silicon disulfide molecule.

Draw the Electron Dot Formula for Silicon Disulfide,SiS₂