Question

Which is the correct lewis structure for ethylene, c2h4?

Answer 1

Remember this, when trying to find a valid lewis structure, every single atom must have a total of 8 shared electrons (full octet). Since I only have 4 hydrogens to work with, two on each carbon, I assumed a double bond in the middle. This way, every atom has a full octet, except for hydrogen which is most stable with just two electrons. If there were just a single bond in between the carbons, each carbon would only have a total of 6 shared electrons which violates the octet rule. So a double bond is a must. This is ethylene by the way.

Answer 2

The Lewis structure shows the valence electrons ethylene.

A Lewis structure is an arrangement of the valence electrons in a molecule as dots. Looking at the Lewis structure, we can be able to count the number of valence electrons in the molecule.

There are a total of twelve valence electrons in ethylene. Four electrons are shared between the carbon atoms while two electrons are shared between each carbon - hydrogen bond.