What is the primary factor that determines the shape of a molecule according to VSEPR theory?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the primary factor that determines the shape of a molecule according to VSEPR theory?
Electronegativity
Lone pairs of electrons
Molecular weight
Bond length
VSEPR theory states that the shape of a molecule is determined by the repulsion between electron pairs, including both bonding and lone pairs.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the primary factor that determines the shape of a molecule according to VSEPR theory?
Solution: VSEPR theory states that the shape of a molecule is determined by the repulsion between electron pairs, including both bonding and lone pairs.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that VSEPR stands for Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion.
Step 2: Know that electrons in a molecule are found in pairs.
Step 3: Recognize that these pairs can be bonding pairs (shared between atoms) or lone pairs (not shared).
Step 4: Learn that electron pairs repel each other because they have the same charge.
Step 5: Realize that the shape of the molecule is determined by how these electron pairs are arranged to minimize repulsion.
