Answer to Question #87750 in Organic Chemistry for Ugah michael

Question

how does the written Lewis structure for potassium chloride differ from that of hydrogen chloride?

Answer 1

Potassium chloride is composed of two ions K⁺ and Cl^-. The formation of the ionic bond is associated with the transfer of one valence electron from potassium to chloride resulting in the formation of K⁺ and Cl^- ions. For ionic bonding, Lewis diagram includes square brackets that indicate electron transfer. However, for covalent bonding, valence electrons are indicated to demonstrate electrons sharing. As a result, for hydrogen chloride, the Lewis structure is drawn without square brackets whereas the shared electron pair is indicated between to atoms.