Draw the Lewis structure for carbon dioxide, CO2 . Determine the shape and polarity of this molecule from the Lewis structure you created.

Step 1: Determine the total number of valence electrons. Carbon has 4 valence electrons and each oxygen atom has 6 valence electrons. Since there are two oxygen atoms, the total number of valence electrons is 4 + 2(6) = 16.

Step 2: Draw a skeleton structure of the molecule. Carbon is the less electronegative element, so it is the central atom. Draw a single bond (two electrons) between the carbon atom and each oxygen atom.

Step 3: Complete the octets of the outer atoms (oxygen atoms) by adding lone pairs of electrons around each oxygen atom. Each oxygen atom needs 6 more electrons to complete its octet, so add three lone pairs to each oxygen atom.

Step 4: Check the central atom (carbon) to see if it has a complete octet. If not, move lone pairs from the outer atoms to form double or triple bonds until the central atom has a complete octet. In this case, carbon only has 4 electrons, so we need to move two lone pairs from each oxygen atom to form double bonds.

The Lewis structure for CO2 is:

O=C=O

Step 5: Determine the shape of the molecule. The carbon atom has two double bonds, each to an oxygen atom. These bonds are arranged linearly, so the shape of the molecule is linear.

Step 6: Determine the polarity of the molecule. Polarity is determined by the difference in electronegativity between the atoms. Oxygen is more electronegative than carbon, so the electrons in the bonds are more attracted to oxygen. However, because the molecule is linear and the electronegativity difference is the same on both sides, the dipoles cancel out and the molecule is nonpolar.