How di I write the Lewis structure of magnesium chloride?

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Answer 1 · 2016-07-29T01:58:26

See below.

#"MgCl"_2# is an ionic compound.

The electron configuration of #"Mg"# is #1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2#.

#"Mg"# can get a noble gas #s^2p^6# configuration by losing its two #4s# electrons and forming a magnesium ion, #"Mg"^(2+)#.

The electron configuration of #"Cl"# is #1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^5#.

#"Cl"# can get a noble gas #s^2p^6# configuration by gaining an electron and forming a chloride ion, #"Cl"^"-"#.

The Lewis structure of #"MgCl"_2# is therefore

The compound is held together by electrostatic attractions between the positively charged magnesium ion and the negatively charged chloride ions.