CF4
how would you determine the molecular shape using vsepr?
i got that it has 32 electrons and four bonds.
im stuck on how to get the non bonding domains and shape and bond angle!
thanks!
Draw the Lewis electron dot structure.
That shows 4 bonding pair which makes it a tetrahedral molecule.
yeah i drew it, and i got the for bonding pairs. so it has zero lone pairs correct?
There aren't any non-bonding pairs; four regions of high electron density leads to tetrahedral.
To determine the molecular shape using the VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) theory for CF4, you need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Determine the total number of valence electrons.
Carbon (C) has 4 valence electrons, and each Fluorine (F) atom has 7 valence electrons. Since there are four fluorine atoms, the total number of valence electrons in CF4 is 4 + (4 × 7) = 32.
Step 2: Determine the central atom.
In this case, the central atom is carbon (C) because it is less electronegative than fluorine (F) and can accommodate more electron pairs.
Step 3: Determine the number of electron pairs around the central atom.
Since each fluorine atom forms a single bond with the carbon atom, there are four bonding pairs between carbon and fluorine. So, there are a total of 4 bonding pairs.
Step 4: Determine the number of non-bonding pairs around the central atom.
Carbon is in Group 4, so it has 4 valence electrons. After forming 4 bonds with fluorine, all its valence electrons are used, leaving no non-bonding pairs around the central atom.
Step 5: Determine the molecular shape.
According to the VSEPR theory, the molecular shape is determined by the repulsion between electron pairs. In this case, with 4 bonding pairs and no non-bonding pairs, the electron pairs are arranged in a tetrahedral shape.
Step 6: Determine the bond angle.
Since the molecular shape is tetrahedral, all bond angles in CF4 are approximately 109.5 degrees. This is because the bonding electron pairs repel each other equally, resulting in a symmetric tetrahedral shape.
So, using the VSEPR theory, the molecular shape of CF4 is tetrahedral, and the bond angles are approximately 109.5 degrees.