Question detail
How does the presence of lone pairs affect bond angles in a molecule?
Try the question, check the answer, then read the explanation to understand the curriculum point.
At a glance
MCQ
Type
practice
Style
Topic
Bonding
Question
- A. Lone pairs increase bond angles.
- B. Lone pairs decrease bond angles.
- C. Lone pairs do not affect bond angles.
- D. Lone pairs create additional bonds.
Answer
Lone pairs decrease bond angles.
Explanation
Lone pairs occupy more space than bonding pairs, leading to greater repulsion and thus decreasing the bond angles between the bonding pairs.
Common mistake
Predicting Molecular Shapes
Students often confuse the number of electron pairs with the number of bonds when predicting molecular shapes, leading to incorrect shapes being assigned.
To accurately predict molecular shapes using electron-pair repulsion, remember to count both bonding pairs and lone pairs of electrons. For example, in a molecule like water (H₂O), there are two bonding pairs and two lone pairs. This results in a bent shape due to the repulsion between the lone pairs, which is stronger than that between bonding pairs.
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