How does bonding affect molecular geometry?
1 Answer
The repulsion between the electrons in a bond affect the angle of deflection of the atoms in the molecule, changing the molecular geometry.
Explanation:
In a bond, there are two types of electron pairs, namely bond pairs and lone pairs. Bond pairs are pairs of electron that form bond between two or more atoms, while lone pairs are pairs of electron of an atom in a molecule that do not form a bond. Since electrons have like charges, they repel each other. So in a molecule, although the bond electrons hold the atoms together, they constantly repel each other and the neighboring electrons.
The bond electron pairs have a repulsion between themselves, and the lone electron pairs have a repulsion between themselves. There is also a repulsion between bond pairs and the lone pairs. When a bond forms, the repulsion between the electron pairs cause them to move as far away from each other as possible. This produces a unique geometrical pattern in the molecule.
So, if a molecule has only two electron pairs, like that in
However, the presence of lone pairs can affect the deflection angle, and hence the shape, of a molecule. A molecule with three electron pairs, two bond pairs and one lone pair like that in