Sapling #11

[Shreya Patel- 2D]

Hi everyone,
I do not understand how to even look at this problem let alone determine the hybridization. Does anyone have any quick tips on how to look at complex structures like this?

Thank you!

[Shannon Moore 2L]

Hi! To find the hybridization of the phosphorus atom, first count the number of atoms attached to it and the number of lone pairs it has. Then add these numbers together and use this chart to determine the hybridization. You'll notice that all the phosphorus atoms in this structure have the same amount of bonds/lone pairs.

3 atoms attached (oxygens) + 1 lone pair = 4 ---> sp3

1 --> s
2 --> sp
3 --> sp2
4 --> sp3
5 --> sp3d1
6 --> sp3d2

Hope this helped!

[dana hu 1B]

because P and O all have two bonding pairs and two lone pairs it is a tetrahedral therefore sp3

[apurva-3E]

Remember to look specifically at the phosphorus atom. Don't worry about the entire structure.

[Adam_ElSayed_3B]

A tip my friend told me is to count up the number of lone pairs + the number of bonds, and then find the answer that counts up to that same number! For example sp3 would add up to 4 because there is a 1 in the s spot and a 3 in the p spot

[RitaThomas_3G]

I definitely get what you mean! I was also really confused when initially looking at this problem just because there's so much going on, but what helped me was to just focus on the Phosphorous atom. By looking here, I saw that there was 3 bonds and 1 lone pair, which meant it was sp^3.

[Megan Lu 3D]

Hi! Like others have explained above, quickly determining the hybridization primarily consists of counting the number of regions of electron density. Even in a complex structure like the one above, this holds true; we can see that each phosphorous has one lone pair and three bonds. This adds up to phosphorous having four regions of electron density.

[Regions of electron density]: [hybridization]
1: s
2: sp
3: sp2
4: sp3
5: spd
… and so on.

Therefore, because there are four total regions of electron density for each phosphorous, the hybridization would be sp3 :)

[Justin Zhang_1A]

Each phosphorous has three bonds to oxygen atoms, and one lone pair. Since there are 4 regions of electron density, the hybridization would be sp3.

[Sameer Chowdhury 3C]

In terms of this problem, a lot of the other people who have responded gave great answers when it came to determining hybridization. For me when I started, I looked at only one the phosphorous atoms, saw it had 4 regions of electron density and then checked a different one. Once I saw they all have the same number of regions, I then determined the hybridization.

[Yuehan_Wu_3K]

My tip is to calculate step by steo the number of hybrid orbitals needed. For example, as for PCl3, four hybrid orbitals are needed. One s orbital and three p orbitals can combine to form four sp3 hybrid orbitals.

[Keshav Patel 14B 2B]

Most important part is to first read the question and understand what they are asking. They say to look at a phosphorous atom so it is not difficult at all. Locate one of them and find how many electron dense regions there are. Phosphorous in this diagram has 3 single bonds and one lone pair so it has 4 regions. 4 regions means that it has sp3 hybridized orbitals.

[Gustavo_Chavez_1K]

For these questions make sure to just pay attention to what the question is specifically asking. So here it is specifically talking about P. In the diagram P is bonded to 3 O atoms and it has 1 lone pair. So since there are four regions of electron density then the hybridization is sp3.

[Eve Gross-Sable 1B]

Shapes like that can be really intimidating, but just remember to look at the atom the question is referring to and focus on that. I think those shapes are meant to distract, but it really is all the same rules for hybridization despite the confusing shape.

[Jose Miguel Conste 3H]

Hi, so you have to read the question thoroughly as it asks specifically what is the hybridization of Phosphorus, which then allows you to see then how many bonds and how many lone pairs are connected to the phosphorus, allowing you to then find the hybridization, dont let the picture intimidate you, as the question asks specifically the bond of the specifical atom

[DominicMalilay 1F]

Hybridization is usually for a specific atom, so you have to look at phosphorous first!

[AlbertGu_2C]

This example specifies hybridization for the Phosphorus atoms, so you would count the three bonded atoms, the three O atoms, and then the lone pair, and that would lead to 4 groups, which means it's an sp3 orbital

[Danielle DIS2L]

I used this video to help me determine the hybridization! hope it helps :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xl0BD-tMeA

[Sean Phen]

1. Count the number of electron density regions which is 4.
2. You know that s has 1, p has 3, and d has 5. Now, use the number of electron density regions and fill in the hybridizations. So it would come out to sp3.

[Andy Hernandez]

its sp3 bc the number of regions of e- density is 4, 1 lone pair and 3 bonds

[Edward Castro]

My best advice would be to not focus on the whole entire structure but rather for a specific atom.