Question

which of the lewis structures in the image is correct?

Explanation:

• For \(CH_4\) (which might be related to structures A and B), carbon should form 4 covalent bonds. In A, carbon has only 3 bonds (counting the dots as non - bonded electrons wrongly placed in terms of bonding for a full - valence carbon in \(CH_4\) context). In B, hydrogen cannot have a non - bonded electron (hydrogen only has 1 electron which is used in bonding in \(CH_4\)).
• For \(NH_3\) (related to C and D), nitrogen has 5 valence electrons. In C, nitrogen has only 3 bonds and 2 non - bonded electrons but is shown with only two non - bonded electrons in a wrong bonding - electron distribution. In D, nitrogen forms 3 covalent bonds (with 3 hydrogens) and has 2 non - bonded electrons (a lone pair), which follows the octet rule (for nitrogen, 3 bonds + 1 lone pair = 8 valence electrons).

Answer:

D.