What is the expected bond angle in a molecule with tetrahedral geometry?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the expected bond angle in a molecule with tetrahedral geometry?
90 degrees
109.5 degrees
120 degrees
180 degrees
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the expected bond angle in a molecule with tetrahedral geometry?
Step 1: Understand what tetrahedral geometry means. It is a shape where a central atom is surrounded by four other atoms.
Step 2: Visualize the tetrahedral shape. Imagine a pyramid with a triangular base, where the central atom is at the center and the four surrounding atoms are at the corners.
Step 3: Know that in a tetrahedral shape, the atoms are spread out as far as possible to minimize repulsion between them.
Step 4: Learn that the ideal bond angle in this arrangement is about 109.5 degrees, which is the angle between any two bonds connecting the central atom to the surrounding atoms.