Tetrahedral vs Square Planar

[Katelyn Alvarado 3K]

How do we know if the shape of a coordination compound is tetrahedral or square planar?

[Veronica Larson- 1I]

I don't think we need to know whether or not it's tetrahedral or square planar, just that it could be either. I think Dr. Lavelle said that it requires more complex knowledge to be able to determine which it would be.

[Jillian Sarquiz- 2B]

I do not think we are expected to know whether a coordination complex is tetrahedral or square planar.

[Neelaj Das 3I]

Dr. Lavelle said we won't need to know whether a certain coordination compound has tetrahedral or square planar molecular geometry, we just need to know that those are 2 possibilities. However, if you really wanted to determine what specific geometry it is, you could draw out the lewis structure and look for any lone pairs.

[Jayden Tan 2L]

Hi! I think he mentioned in one of the lectures that we wouldn't need to memorize whether it would be square planar or tetrahedral!

[Desiree Eshraghi 3A]

Not relevant to our final, but I'm sure there's some youtube videos if interested!

[Michelle Li 2B]

Dr. Lavelle said in lecture that if the coordination number is 4 and there are 4 places where the central metal atom is bound to the ligands, then it can be either square planar or tetrahedral. We won't have to know which one specifically it is, since it requires more complex chemistry.