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Questions tagged [vsepr-theory]

For questions about the valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory, in topics of: estimation of bond length, bond angle, bond energy, etc.; determining hybridization of atoms, or shape and geometry of molecules; and other related topics.

0 votes
0 answers
27 views

Is electronegativity a good argument to explain that bond angle of PH3 is smaller than of NH3? [duplicate]

I can't really understand the argument of my OpenCourseWare professor. She says that the atomic size difference between the two central atoms (P is "bigger" than N) explains the fact that ...
niobium's user avatar
  • 257
2 votes
0 answers
35 views

Question Involving Bonding (VSEPR AND VBT)

So basically any chemistry book will tell you about the extent of overlapping in different orbitals. For formation of sigma bonds, head on overlapping happens. Chemistry textbooks always state that $p-...
afrin's user avatar
  • 72
2 votes
0 answers
50 views

What is the difference between the VSEPR theory and its model?

I know that VSEPR was actually a model proposed by Sidgwick and Powell but then it was developed as a "theory" by Gillespie and Nyholm. Google says that a theory is more detailed and ...
Spluesh's user avatar
  • 83
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why is the bond angle of SO2 less than 120 degrees? [duplicate]

I've learnt about VSEPR theory and have a general idea of how lone electron pairs affect the molecular geometry by repulsions. But my teacher told me that when the angle between bond pairs or lone ...
AVS's user avatar
  • 521
0 votes
1 answer
228 views

Cl-P-Cl and Cl-S-Cl Bond angles in respective PCl3 and SCl2 compounds

Both $\ce{PCl3}$ and $\ce{SCl2}$ are $\mathrm{sp^3}$ hybrid. $\ce{PCl3}$ has 1 lone pair whereas $\ce{SCl2}$ has 2 lone pairs, so due to more lp-lp repulsion, $\ce{SCl2}$ should have smaller bond ...
Aspirant's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

When would a R-O-R bond be linear?

While rummaging in my molecular model kit, I noticed that it contains a surprising number of $180^\circ$ oxygen atoms, i.e., oxygen that is meant to be covalently bonded to two partners in a linear ...
MrArsGravis's user avatar
-4 votes
1 answer
572 views

what's the importance of "s" character in hybrid orbitals?

I am a high school student and I am learning about hybridization, my teacher told me that it is due to the "s" character in the hybrid orbital that they can arrange themselves so that the ...
happy's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do CCl4 and CH4 have the same bond angle?

I was reading about the molecular shape of compounds. I learned that the electronegativity of the central atom and the terminal atom in a molecule both play a role in determining bond angle. In $\ce{...
Akash's user avatar
  • 63
1 vote
1 answer
636 views

Why is the Br-C-H bond angle in CH3Br smaller than the Cl-C-H bond angle in CH3Cl?

Can someone explain for me why the Br-C-H bond angle in CH3Br is smaller than the Cl-C-H bond angle in CH3Cl? From what I know, F-C-H in CH3F has a smaller bond angle than Cl-C-H in CH3Cl because F is ...
ManhAu's user avatar
  • 37
0 votes
0 answers
221 views

Why is C-S-C bond angle in thiirane so small at 48.5 degrees?

Why is the C-S-C bond angle in thiirane (48.5 degrees) so much smaller than C-O-C bond angle in oxirane/epoxide (60 degrees). Source: https://coek.info/pdf-three-membered-ring-heterocycles-.html
Anonymous's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
66 views

Quantifying location and volume of "lone pairs" for VSEPR

Of course molecular shape and the VSEPR model come up frequently. As discussed previously in a valence bond picture like VSEPR, the lone pair electrons are closer to the atom than bonding pairs, and &...
Geoff Hutchison's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
150 views

Can exact bond angles in cycloalkanes be calculated?

I know that bond angles in cycloalkanes are usually different from $\ce{109.5}^{\circ}$ as predicted by the VSEPR theory because of their shape, and a higher deviation will cause a higher ring strain. ...
Lynn Gu's user avatar
  • 527
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why does the Lewis structure for NH2 have 4 dots and not 3? [duplicate]

Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons. So I would expect that when bonding with two hydrogens, two electrons would go into those bonds, and three would remain in place on the nitrogen. Yet, all the ...
CodyBugstein's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why does methane have 4-different bond dissociation energies?

I will elaborate on my question here. In my Lecture Notes it is mentioned that for methane, there are 4 different $\text{C-H}$ bond energies. I plotted a quick graph of the bond energies to analyse ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
99 views

What does "the natural bond angle" mean in the context of Universal Force Field (UFF) potential energy calculation and how are bond angles calculated?

As the title says, what does "the natural bond angle θ0" mean in the context of Universal Force Field (UFF) potential energy calculation? The reference appears in section D. Angular ...
user107959's user avatar

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