Lone pairs and bond angles
Moderators: Chem_Mod, Chem_Admin
Lone pairs and bond angles
Does having a lone pair on the central atom decrease the bond angles of the other attached atoms?
-
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:15 am
Re: Lone pairs and bond angles
Yes, a lone pair decreases the bond angles. For example, in NH3 since there is a lone pair the bond angles will be around 107 degrees rather than the 109.5 degrees that shape usually gives.
-
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:17 am
Re: Lone pairs and bond angles
Yes, the repulsion of a lone pair pushes the atoms bonded to the central atom closer together. This is because the electron cloud of a lone pair can spread over a larger volume than a bonding pair can, because a bonding pair (or several bonding pairs in a multiple bond) is held in place by two atoms, not one.
-
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2018 12:22 am
Re: Lone pairs and bond angles
A lone pair on the central atom would push bonding electron pairs closer together, therefore decreasing the bond angles, since it has a stronger/higher repulsion (l.p-l.p > l.p-b.p > b.p-b.p).
-
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:17 am
Re: Lone pairs and bond angles
Lone pair decreases bond angle because it causes repulsion with other lone pairs and bonding pairs.
Return to “Determining Molecular Shape (VSEPR)”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests