---
title: Lone pairs, radicals and charges
url: https://www.moldraw.com/docs/drawing/how-to-add-lone-pairs-radicals-and-formal-charges/
section: Draw structures
updated: 2026-10-11
publisher: LabCanvas
---

# Lone pairs, radicals and charges

> Pick the lone pair tool and click an atom to add a pair of dots. Use the radical tool for one dot. Charge tools add plus and minus marks you can drag around the atom.

1. Click the **Lone pair** tool in the left rail.
2. Click an atom. A pair of dots appears.
3. Drag the dots around the atom to a free side.
4. For a radical, open the small arrow and pick the radical tool.

## Charges

Use **+** and **−** in the rail. Click again for +2 or −2. The rail also has circled charges and δ+ and δ−.

## When to show lone pairs

Show lone pairs when you draw mechanisms. A curved arrow should start at a lone pair or a bond. Oxygen in water has two pairs. Nitrogen in ammonia has one.

> **Tip:** Check that charges match electrons. Oxygen with three bonds and one lone pair is +1.

## Questions and answers

**How do I add a lone pair in MolDraw?**
Pick the Lone pair tool in the left rail and click the atom. Drag the dots to move them.

**How do I add a radical?**
Open the small arrow under the lone pair tool, pick the radical, and click the atom.