Based on an element's Lewis dot structure...

Question

This is the complete question:

 

How can you tell if an element is a metal or a nonmetal based on its Lewis dot structure?

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for taking the time to post your question!

You can tell if an element is a metal or nonmetal by examining the number of valence electrons (dots) that the Lewis dot structure has. Metals tend to have a small number of valence electrons – typically one, two or three.

The tendency to lose electrons is a defining characteristic of metals. Nonmetals then tend to have between four to seven valence electrons. The tendency to gain or share electrons is a defining characteristic of nonmetals.

I hope that helps you get moving in a better direction on this type of question! Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions beyond that :)

Answer 2

Hey Abaline -- except for H2 or He, if there's only one or two e-'s in the outer shell,

those loosely-bound e-'s will "pull-off" or conduct in metallic fashion. Regards, ma'am :)