Questions: Draw the Lewis dot diagram for a Be+ cation.
Transcript text: Draw the Lewis dot diagram for a $\mathrm{Be}^{+}$cation.
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Determine the Electron Configuration of Neutral Beryllium
Neutral beryllium (Be) has an atomic number of 4, which means it has 4 electrons. The electron configuration for neutral beryllium is:
1s22s2
Step 2: Account for the Positive Charge in Be+
The Be+ cation indicates that beryllium has lost one electron. Therefore, we need to remove one electron from the electron configuration of neutral beryllium. The electron is removed from the outermost shell, which is the 2s orbital:
1s22s1
Step 3: Draw the Lewis Dot Diagram
The Lewis dot diagram represents the valence electrons around the element symbol. For Be+, there is one valence electron in the 2s orbital. Therefore, the Lewis dot diagram for Be+ will have one dot around the symbol for beryllium (Be).