What is the Lewis structure of NH3?

The Lewis structure of ammonia (
3
NH
3
​
) is a representation of its molecular structure using Lewis symbols and lines to indicate the covalent bonds between atoms. Here's the Lewis structure for ammonia:


−

−

H−N−H

Each "H" represents a hydrogen atom, and "N" represents a nitrogen atom. The lines between the atoms represent covalent bonds, where each line represents a pair of shared electrons.

In ammonia (

3
NH
3
​
), nitrogen (N) has five valence electrons, and each hydrogen (H) atom contributes one valence electron. The total number of valence electrons in ammonia is:

5
(

)
+
3
(
1

ℎ

)
=
8
5(fromN)+3(1fromeachH)=8

To complete the Lewis structure, you place the electrons in pairs around the atoms, following the octet rule. The octet rule states that atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons to have a complete outer shell of eight electrons. In the case of ammonia, nitrogen shares three of its valence electrons with three hydrogen atoms:

:
:
H:N:H

where each ":" represents a shared pair of electrons. After sharing these three pairs, nitrogen has two non-bonding lone pairs of electrons:


−

:

H−N:H

So, in summary, the Lewis structure of ammonia (

3
NH
3
​
) is:

−
:
H−N:H

with two non-bonding lone pairs on the nitrogen atom.