Questions: Imagine a compound with the formula X3. Each of the X has 6 valence electrons, What will be the electron pair geometry and the molecular geometry? eg. tetrahedral ; tetrahedral e.g trigonal planar ;m.g bent e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal planar e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal pyramidal

Imagine a compound with the formula X3. Each of the X has 6 valence electrons, What will be the electron pair geometry and the molecular geometry?
eg. tetrahedral ; tetrahedral
e.g trigonal planar ;m.g bent
e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal planar
e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal pyramidal

Transcript text: Imagine a compound with the formula $X_{3}$. Each of the $X$ has 6 valence electrons, What will be the electron pair geometry and the molecular geometry? eg. tetrahedral ; tetrahedral e.g trigonal planar ;m.g bent e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal planar e.g. trigonal planar ;mg. trigonal pyramidal

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Determine the Total Number of Valence Electrons

Each atom $X$ has 6 valence electrons. Since there are three $X$ atoms in the compound $X_3$, the total number of valence electrons is: \[ 3 \times 6 = 18 \text{ valence electrons} \]

Step 2: Determine the Electron Pair Geometry

The compound $X_3$ suggests a central atom with two other atoms bonded to it. To determine the electron pair geometry, we need to consider the arrangement of electron pairs around the central atom.

Assuming the central atom is one of the $X$ atoms, it will have 6 valence electrons. If it forms two single bonds with the other two $X$ atoms, it will use 2 electrons for bonding, leaving 4 electrons as lone pairs. This results in 2 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs.

The electron pair geometry for a molecule with 4 electron pairs (2 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs) is tetrahedral.

Step 3: Determine the Molecular Geometry

The molecular geometry is determined by the positions of the atoms, not the lone pairs. With 2 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs, the molecular geometry is bent.