Question

The lewis structure of pf3 shows that the central phosphorus atom has ________ nonbonding and ________ bonding electron pair(s)

Answer 1

The Lewis structure of PF3 shows that the central phosphorus atom has one non bonding and three bonding electron pairs. In this compound each Phosphorus atom contributes 5 valence electrons while each fluoride contributes 7 valence electrons making a total of 26 valence electrons. The central Phosphorus atom forms single bonds with each of the fluoride atoms. Phosphorus, therefore ends up with a non-bonding pair since the fluoride atoms already have 8 electrons around them. <span />

Answer 2

Answer :  The Lewis structure of $PF_3$ shows that the central phosphorus atom has 1 non-bonding and 3 bonding electron pair(s).

Explanation :

Lewis-dot structure : It shows the bonding between the atoms of a molecule and it also shows the unpaired electrons present in the molecule.

The number of valence electrons are shown by 'dot'.

The given molecule is, phosphorous trifluoride.

As we know that phosphorous has '5' valence electrons and fluorine has '7' valence electrons.

Therefore, the total number of valence electrons in phosphorous trifluoride, $PF_3$ = 5 + 3(7) = 26

According to electron-dot structure, there are 6 number of bonding electrons and 20 number of non-bonding electrons.

The Lewis structure of $PF_3$ shows that the central phosphorus atom has 1 non-bonding and 3 bonding electron pair(s).

The Lewis-dot structure of $PF_3$ is shown below.