Lone pairs

[Katie 3H]

Since lone pairs are not actual bonds, they have nothing to doin terms of being identified as sigma and pi bonds right?

[Caroline 2A]

Hi!

That’s correct. Lone pairs of electrons are found in nonbonding orbitals, and are not used to bond, they are just present on the atom. So by this logic, no, they are not counted as sigma or pi bonds.

Hope this helps :)

[PatrickV]

If we were looking at a lewis structure, all bonds have a sigma bond. A single, double, and triple bond have a sigma bond. A double bond also has a pi bond and a triple bond has 2 pi bonds in addition to the sigma bond. Since a lone pair is not connecting two atoms together it has no bonds so it has neither a sigma or pi bond.

[Kayla Ziebell 1H]

Hi, yes lone pairs do not play a role in determining sigma and pi bonds. Sigma and pi bonds are based on the bonds and whether or not they are single, double, triple, etc.

[Nick Oscarson 1K]

That's correct! When looking for sigma and pi bonds, I like to follow this rule:
Single bond --> 1 sigma bond
Double bond --> 1 sigma bond, 1 pi bond
Triple bond --> 1 sigma bond, 2 pi bonds



This image shows how the above rules apply after drawing the Lewis structures.

Also, here is a video on pi and sigma bonds that use more examples and explain it more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT8nrBrTOm4&t=109s

[Iman Gauhar 3E]

Hi! Since lone pairs are only connected to one atom and not multiple, they are not involved in any bonds.

[Prithvi Raj 3E]

That is correct. Since lone pairs are only on one atom and aren't shared between two atoms, lone pairs do not form any sigma or pi bonds.

[505784197]

Also, lone pairs contribute to the bond being weaker, just something I thought I'd say in terms of recognizing stronger and weaker bonds.

[Matthew Nguyen 3G]

That would be correct you can not classify lone pairs as either sigma or pi bonds. Sigma and pi bonds occur when an atom is connected to another.

[Kelly McFarlane]

Yes, since lone pairs are not bonds, they are not affected by sigma and pi bonds either.