Charge Clouds and Shapes

• Lone pair charge clouds repel more than bonding pair charge clouds so bond angles are reduced
• Valence shell electron pair repulsion theory (VSEPR) is a model used to predict 3D molecular geometry
• 2 bonding pairs

  Linear (180 degrees)
• 3 bonding pairs

  Trigonal planar (120 degrees)
• 4 bonding pairs

  tetrahedral (109.5 degrees)
• 5 bonding pairs

  trigonal bipyramidal (120 and 90 degrees)
• 6 bonding pairs

  octahedral (90 degrees)
• 2 bonding pairs, 1 lone pair

  bent
• 3 bonding pairs, 1 lone pair

  Trigonal pyramidal (107 degrees)
• 4 bonding pairs, 1 lone pair


  see saw (102 and 86.5 degrees)
• 5 bonding pairs, 1 lone pair


  square based pyramid (90 degrees)
• 2 bonding pairs, 2 lone pairs

  bent (104.5 degrees)
• 3 bonding pairs, 2 lone pairs 


  T shape (87.5 degrees)
• 4 bonding pairs, 2 lone pairs

  Square planar (90 degrees)
• 2 bonding pairs, 3 lone pairs

  linear (180 degrees)
• 3 lone pairs, 3 bonding pairs


  T shape
• 2 bonding pairs, 4 lone pairs

  linear (180 degrees)