Clarifying re: counting lone pairs

[OzzyMMSection2J]

Textbook example: showed sp3d as the right answer for the hybridization of the example I attached. Is it safe to say that the number of hybrid orbitals can be the same number as the steric number used for VSEPR?

[Lexi Saket 2B]

Yes, hybridization is based on the number of regions of electron density which is the steric number

[506047744]

Because the hybridization number accounts for ligand bonds and lone pairs, it can be considered the same as the steric number.