Textbook 2.F.7

[butteredbread]

hello, can some one explain this question?

Identify the hybrid orbitals used by the atom in boldface red type in each of the following species: (a) BF3 (b) AsF3 (c) BrF3 (d) SeF3+

I don't understand what it means by the hybrid orbital used and I don't understand why they would have different hybridizations. Does the positive or negative charge affect the hybridization?

[Ethan Mai 1D]

Hybrid orbitals refers to the way that orbitals may "combine" when an atom bonds with another atom. For example, in CH4, instead of each of the orbitals of C bonding with the S orbitals of the hydrogen atoms, the 3 p-orbitals and the single s-orbital will hybridize or combine to form an sp3 orbital. Different hybridizations are affected by the number of electron groups around the central atom. Furthermore, charge does not necessarily indicate the type of hybridization, but it denotes the addition or loss of an electron in counting valence electrons, so it may be useful in determining the structure of a molecule. I hope this helps!