Lone Pairs

[Shibhon_Shepard]

Only the lone pairs on the central atom affect the shape right? not the lone pairs on the other ones?

[LaurenJuul_1B]

yes. shape depends entirely on what is connected to the central atom. AlCl3, for example, is trigonal planar even though each of the chlorines has 3 pairs of lone electrons

[Michael Novelo 4G]

Correct when looking at molecular shape we only focus on what's surrounding the central atom and thats when we use the VSEPR Formula such as AX3E to indicate how many bonds and lone pairs (if any) are attached to the central atom. The lone pairs will cause repulsion which will change the bond angles and shape.

[Rosha Mamita 2H]

Only the bonds and lone pairs on the central atom determine the VSEPR shape of the molecule.

[Danny Zhang 4L]

The only things that affect the shape of a molecule are the central atom's lone pairs and the bonds it formed.

[Melissa Villanueva1K]

Only the lone pairs on the central atom can have an affect in the geometry of the molecule. Such as the push or the pull of the surrounding atoms.