VSEPR notation

[marlene 1K]

Don't know if this has been asked yet, but can the VSEPR notation help us determine the shape of the molecule??

[Inderpal Singh 2L]

I believe that it can

[Lesly Lopez 3A]

It can since it tells you how it is formed. The theory says that repulsion among the pairs of electrons on a central atom (whether bonding or non-bonding electron pairs) will control the geometry of the molecule. Hope that helps!

[Alexandra Ahlschlager 1L]

Yes! To build off of what others have said, molecules with the same VSEPR notation will have the same shape. For example, all molecules with the AX3E notation will have a trigonal pyramidal structure. Hope this helps!

[Brianna Martilla 1C]

I think it can give us a general idea of the shape, but is not always quantitatively accurate, because if the surrounding atoms are not all the same, the bond angles will differ slightly than 'expected'.

[Madison Muggeo 3H]

Yes the notation will help determine the shape but we still need to know the bond angles because these can differ from molecule to molecule because of the different atoms within them :)

[Jonathan Batac - 2D]

Yes VSEPR notation definitely helps with figuring out the shape of a molecule. A is the central atom and X & E are the two different types of electron regions. Counting the number of Xs and Es, you can find the arrangement (tetrahedral, octahedral, etc), but to find the exact shape you got to take into account the number and effect of lone pairs (E) in relation to the Xs.

[Haochen He 3L]

Yes. I think it can tell you the shape of molecules since it represents the number of bonded atoms and lone pairs.

[Emma Strassner 1J]

VSEPR notation can tell you the shape because it tells you the bonded atoms and the pairs. From there you can figure out the bond angles if they're slightly different from expected.

[Brett Lieuallen 2A]

Yes it helps describe the general shape. It doesn't always help determine which section the lone pairs take up if there are numerous options on a plane. However, this shouldn't matter too much