Finding Shapes

• 1. Find the central atom (the one everything is bonded to).
  2. Work out how many electrons in the central atom’s outer shell (periodic table).
  3. Work out how many electrons are being donated to the central atom (what is it bonded to).
  4. Add up the total number of electrons in its outer shell and divide by 2 to find the number of electron pairs (be careful with ions if negative add 1 electron).
  5. Compare the number of electron pairs to the number of bonds to determine the number of LPs and BPs.