Bent vs linear

[Katherine Chhen 3I]

How would I be able to distinguish between a shape that is bent or linear since they both have 2 bonded atoms?

[jvera4b]

A bent molecule will have a lone pair, or two in the case of AX₂E₂, on the central atom as opposed to a linear which has no lone pairs around the central atom.

[Katherine Chhen 3I]

What about AX2E3 since it is linear and not bent?

[Aedra Li 3H]

AX3E2 would be t shaped

[William Francis 2E]

When a central atom is bonded to two atoms with no lone pairs, it is linear. If one lone pair is present on the central atom, the molecule is bent since the lone pair repels the bonded atoms. I find it useful to count how many areas of electron density there are for the central atom before I determine the shape. For instance, if a central atom is bonded to two atoms and has one lone pair, there are three areas of electron density. If all three areas of electron density were bonded atoms, the atom would have a trigonal planar shape with 120 degree bond angles; however, since one of the areas of electron density is a lone pair, the bond angle must be less than 120 degrees as lone pairs repel bonded atoms more than bonded atoms repel each other. Therefore, the molecule must be bent. If the central atom has two lone pairs and two bonds, it has four regions of electron density. This is like a water molecule. It is also bent.

[Jenna Ortiguerra 4G]

A linear molecule has an angle of 180 degrees because it is just a straight line between the three atoms. Bent molecules typically have a lone pair, causing repulsion between the bonded atoms, ultimately forming a smaller angle between the bonded atoms. AX2 and AX2E3 are both linear molecules, with AX2E3 being linear because the 3 lone pairs are on the equatorial plane, allowing the axial plane to stay (180 degrees).

[Megan Ngai- 3B]

Bent has a lone pair while linear does not.

[Katherine Chhen 3I]

AX2E3 has 3 lone pairs however it is still considered linear on the handout that we were given in discussion.

[Bradley Whitworth 4B]

It depends on lone pairs on the central atom so draw the lewis structure and work from there.

[Leyna Dang 2H]

You could draw the Lewis structure and determine the VSEPR formula. A formula of AX2E or AX2E2 would indicate that the molecule is bent. AX2 or AX2E3 would be linear.

[Hannah Pham]

The bent shape has lone pair on the central atom while the linear shape typically does not have any lone pairs except for the exception of the molecule with 5 electron densities where there are 2 bonds and 3 lone pairs and the molecule with 6 electron densities with 2 bonds and 4 electron densities.

[erica thompson 4I]

It's helpful to think about how many electron pairs are occupying spots where there may/may not be atoms. Add the Xs and Es together to get the electron configuration, and then subtract as many atoms as there are lone pairs. This way you'll see which molecules should be "bent" down or not.

[AmyL_3L]

The bent shape has 1-2 lone pairs on the central atom, whereas the linear shape has none or 3-4 lone pairs.

[805373590]

the bent shape has 1-2 lone pairs whereas linear has 0 0r 3 in the case of I3.

[EvaLi_3J]

A molecule would be bent because it has lone pairs on the central atom. Lone pairs have very strong electronic repulsion, for which the other two atoms bonded to the central atom are repelled to be as far from the lone pair as possible.

[zfinn]

bent will have 1 or 2 lone pairs (AX2E oe AX2E2) while linear will have none or 3 (AX2 or AX2E3)!

[Frederick Keith_4C]

If there were only two bonded atoms and no lone pairs of electrons, then the electron arrangement would be LINEAR. But if there were two bonded atoms AND lone pairs of electrons, then the electron arrangement would be BENT or ANGULAR.
This is because the repulsive nature of the lone pair electron is greater than that of the bonded atom because it can occupy more space.

[emma brinton_3B]

a bent molecule is AX2E and AX2E2 while linear is AX2, AX2E4, and AX2E3

[Martina]

A bent molecule has a lone pair which pushes the other atoms away from it, causing a bent shape.

[Tahlia Mullins]

A bent molecule will have one or two lone pairs with VESPR functions AX2E and AX2E2

[Megan Jung 3A]

you can look at the VSEPR formula. For bent molecules, the formula can be: AX2E or AX2E2. for linear molecules the formula can be: AX2 or AX2E3 or AX2E4

[preyasikumar_2L]

Linear will have ONLY those two bonded atoms around the central atom, or the two bonded atoms and enough lone pairs around the central atom that would cause the dipole moments created from the lone pairs to cancel out, while bent would have the two bonded atoms around the central atom AND lone pairs with dipole moments that won't cancel out.

[Catherine Daye 1L]

A bent molecule has one or two lone pairs, while a linear molecule has three lone pairs or none.

[SimranSangha4I]

linear wouldn't contain a lone pair while bent would.

[SarahCoufal_1k]

Bent has 1 or 2 lone pairs- either AX2E or AX2E2. They are bent because the lone pairs repel the electrons on the bonded atoms.

[AniP_2D]

A linear shaped molecule has no lone pairs at the central atom, while a bent shaped molecule does have one or two lone pairs at the central atom.

[Jarrett Peyrefitte 2K]

Bent molecules have a lone pair, aka "E", compared to linear molecules do not. The lone pairs repel the electrons on the bonded atoms.

[Sreyes_1C]

linear will have no lone pairs so the bond angle will not be altered

[Rosa Munoz 2E]

2 bonded pairs, 1 lone pair= bent. 2 bonded pairs, 2 lone pairs=bent.

[305376058]

The bent molecule contains lone pairs, linear does not.

[Megan Ngai- 3B]

bent has a lone pair while linear does not

[Matthew Tsai 2H]

If there are either one or two electron pairs on the central atom along with the two bonded atoms, it would result in bent shape. Otherwise, the molecule would be linear in shape.

[kendal mccarthy]

Look to see the electron geometries and molecular shapes to help you decide! For example if there are 2 atoms bonded and 1 electron then it is bent, if there are 2 atoms and 2 electrons it is also bent, if there are 2 atoms and 3 electrons it is linear because the lone pairs balance eachother out.

[Caitlin Ciardelli 3E]

The biggest difference between linear and bent is to notice whether something is pushing down on the outside two atoms (such as a lone pair on the central atom). Hope this helps :)

[aishwarya_atmakuri]

Bent has lone pairs while linear does not.

[Natalie Benitez 1E]

Can we refer to bent as angular or v-shaped as well or are we limited to just saying bent for exams?

[Paul Hage 2G]

Can we refer to bent as angular or v-shaped as well or are we limited to just saying bent for exams?

I recall hearing that bent or v-shaped would be accepted for exams. However, all three are the same shape. I would refer to it as bent on exams to be on the safe side.

[ZainAlrawi_1J]

Bent molecules have a lone pair.

[Natalie Benitez 1E]

While both molecular geometry's do have two bonds connected to the central the main thing to consider is if there are any lone pairs on the central atom as well. There are two instances when it can be considered linear; one way is when there are only two bonds to the central atom and no lone pairs, the other is when the orbital geometry is that of a trigonal bi-pyramidal in which there are 3 lone pairs and 2 bonds attached to the central atom. Bent molecular geometry occurs when there are 2 bonds and one lone pair and also when there 2 bonds and 2 lone pairs.

[Eesha Chattopadhyay 2K]

If a molecule has two lone pairs, whether or not it is bent or linear depends on the total number of regions of electron density.

[AngieGarcia_4F]

Linear has no lone electrons so it would be AX but a bent shape has a lone pair so it would be AXE.

[Maya Beal Dis 1D]

Does bent mean the same thing as angular? In the textbook they use the term angular and I was sure what that meant.

[Kylie Lim 4G]

A bent molecule will have a lone pair that forces the other two bonded atoms into a bent bond angle, and the linear molecules either have no lone pairs, or the lone pairs are evenly distributed so that the molecule is still linear (in molecules with 5 or 6 electron density regions)

[Caitlin Ciardelli 3E]

A bent molecule must have at least one lone pair on the central atom. A molecule will be linear without the lone pair because there is nothing pushing down on them. When you add the lone pair, the other two atoms want to be as far away (repulsion) causing the molecule to be bent

[Snigdha Uppu 1G]

A molecule is bent rather than linear because when a lone pair has more repulsion than that of another atom, so even though the other two atoms in the bent shape are closer together, this is still a more optimal shape.

[Jarrett Peyrefitte 2K]

A linear molecule has a 180 degree angle while a bent has less than a 120 degree angle

[Shail Avasthi 2C]

Bent molecules will have lone pairs on the central atom in addition to the two bound atoms. These lone pairs will distort the shape of the molecule to bent instead of linear.

[ramiro_romero]

Liner shapes will have 2 bonding atoms and 1 or 2 lone pairs on the central atoms. Linear shapes are also 2 bonding atoms but will have either zero or 3 lone pairs on the central atom. AX2E, AX2E2 = bent. AX2, AX2E3= linear. Also, bent shapes are more likely to be polar than linear shapes

[Sears 4A]

linear: 2 regions of electron density, 2 bonds
bent: 4 regions of electron density, 2 bonds

[AronCainBayot2K]

A molecule would be linear if there is one central atom and no lone pairs on the central atom where as the molecule would be bent if there is a lone pair. The only exception is AX2E3 where it is also linear.

[Micah3J]

Is there a difference between bent and angular? Or is it just another way of saying the same thing?

[Kaitlynn Tran 3F]

Bent molecules can have the VSEPR formula AX₂E or AX₂E₂. Linear molecules can have the VSEPR formula AX₂, AX₂E, or AX₂E₃. It depends on the number of lone pairs and how the regions of electron density affect the shape of the molecule.

[Kaitlynn Tran 3F]

Is there a difference between bent and angular? Or is it just another way of saying the same thing?

These are interchangeable terms for the same shape! They both describe the molecular shape that has a bond angle of <120 degrees.

[Kylie Lim 4G]

Linear comes from the parent electron geometries of trigonal bipyramidal and octahedral, whereas bent comes from trigonal planar and tetrahedral

[005384106]

What about AX2E3 since it is linear and not bent?

You cannot have all 3 electrons together because there would be a lot of electron electron repulsion, therefore 2 electrons and one electron would repel from the 2 atoms and allow for this linear shape

[Maika Ngoie 1B]

Looking at the number of lone pairs can help identify whether or not the molecule is bent or linear.

[Kavya Immadisetty 2B]

If there are lone pairs, the molecule is probably bent