PCl5 has a trigonal bipyramidal shape due to five bonding pairs around the phosphorus atom.
What is the shape of the molecule PCl5?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the shape of the molecule PCl5?
Trigonal bipyramidal
Octahedral
Tetrahedral
Square planar
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the shape of the molecule PCl5?
Step 1: Identify the central atom in the molecule PCl5, which is phosphorus (P).
Step 2: Count the number of chlorine (Cl) atoms bonded to the phosphorus atom. There are five Cl atoms.
Step 3: Determine the number of bonding pairs around the phosphorus atom. Since there are five Cl atoms, there are five bonding pairs.
Step 4: Understand that the arrangement of five bonding pairs around a central atom leads to a specific geometric shape.
Step 5: Recognize that five bonding pairs create a trigonal bipyramidal shape, where three pairs are in a plane and two are above and below this plane.
No concepts available.
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