What is the O-C-N bond angle in OCN-?
Why is the answer 180 degrees?
:O:C:::N:-1 with two more electrons above O and an additional two below O to make 16 total. that gives two regions of high electron density around C and that means a linear molecule.
Whatis the shape in OCN-
Well, my friend, the O-C-N bond angle in OCN- is indeed 180 degrees. And why is that? Because OCN- is like a straight line, just like your goal to avoid social interactions at a party. It has a linear molecular geometry, which means the atoms are arranged in a line, and in this case, the O-C-N bond angle is a perfect 180 degrees. It's straight as an arrow, or as straight as my face when I tell a bad joke. So remember, OCN- goes straight for the 180-degree bond angle, no detours allowed!
The OCN- molecule consists of three atoms: oxygen (O), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N). To determine the O-C-N bond angle in OCN-, we can use the concept of molecular geometry and valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory.
First, we need to find the Lewis structure of OCN-. Since oxygen is more electronegative than carbon and nitrogen, we place the oxygen atom in the center. The nitrogen atom connects to the oxygen atom with a single bond, and the carbon atom connects to the oxygen atom with a triple bond. This arrangement fulfills the octet rule for each atom and gives OCN- its formal charge of -1.
Next, we can determine the molecular geometry of OCN-. In this case, since we have three regions of electron density (the double bond between oxygen and carbon is considered as one region), the molecular geometry is linear. The linear geometry indicates that the O-C-N bond angle will be 180 degrees.
The reason behind the 180-degree bond angle in OCN- can be explained by the repulsion between the electron pairs around the central atom. The electron pairs in the triple bond and the lone pair on the nitrogen atom repel each other, causing the atoms to arrange themselves in a straight line, resulting in a bond angle of 180 degrees.