Lewis structure-is this right?

Question

This is the question I am having trouble with: Draw a lewis structure for the ionic compound Ba(OH)2.

here is my answer


**

H **O**

x *

Ba x* H


**O**
**

Would the two oxygens be coming off of (or bonded to) the Ba & H to make the noble gas configuration? (8 electrons)
If not, where would the oxygens go? because oxygen only has 6..

any/all answers much appreciated:))

Answer 1

Lewis structure: ignore the dashes. Each dot represents an electron.

Ba(OH)2 is an ionic solid. For each barium 2+ ion it is bonded ionically to 2 OH- ions. The bond is between oxygen and barium.
As OH is a polyatomic ion, it simply means there's a hydrogen attached.

Keep in mind that Hydrogen will only form 2 bonds instead of 8.

---..---..------
--:Ba:O:H---
---..---..------
--:O:H-------
---..----------

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Ba Oh 2 Lewis Structure

Answer 3

Doing Lewis structures for ionic compounds is an exercise in frustration. The way I have seen most textbooks do them is this: put the Ba down enclosed with brackets and a 2+ charge to show it has lost it's electrons. Now put the O and H down bonded to each other by a pair of electrons O:H and show an octet of electrons on the oxygen. Enclose the OH in a pair of brackets and put a subscript of 2 and a superscript of 2- The barium has an octet of electrons because it has reverted back to the noble gas before it, the oxygen has an octet that we can see and the hydrogen is happy with a duet. Covalent compounds make much more sense for Lewis structures.