01:160:161 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5.7-5.9: Trigonal Bipyramidal Molecular Geometry, Lone Pair, Electron Shell
23 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Valence shell electron pair repulsion (vsepr) theory is based on the simple idea that electron groups- which we define as lone pairs, single bonds, multiple bonds, and even single electrons- repel one another through coulomb forces. The electron groups are also attracted to the nucleus (otherwise the molecule would fall apart), but. The preferred geometry of a molecule is the one in which the electron groups have the maximum separation (and therefore the minimum energy) possible. The resulting geometries constitute the five basic shapes of molecules. Molecules that form only two single bonds, with no lone pairs, are rare because they do not follow the octet rule. Different types of electron groups exert slightly different repulsions - the resulting bond angles reflect these differences. Think of electron groups as balloons because the bulkiness of the balloons causes them to spread out as much as possible.
