Square planar complexes

Question 1

a square planar shape contains

Answer 1

contains a central atom or ion surrounded by four atoms or ligands in the same plane and with bond angles of 90 degrees

Question 2

an example of a square planar shape is

Answer 2

xenon tetrafluoride, XeF4

Question 3

• an atom of xenon has ……… electrons in its outermost energy level and each fluorine uses……………….to form a …………………..bond
• the outer energy level now contains………..e-
• the compound’s shape is………..because……………

Answer 3

• 8 electrons in its outermost energy level
• each fluorine atom uses one of its electrons to form a covalent bond
• the outer energy level now contains 12 electrons arranged in six pairs, forming an octahedral shape, with two of the pairs being lone pairs
• shape is square planar as the two lone pairs repel each other and are therefore located opposite each other, so the four bonding pairs are in a plane (flat, 2D), with the fluorine atoms at the corners of a square and an F-Xe-F bond angle of 90 degrees

Question 4

cis-platin is used for

Answer 4

its effective treatment of some types of cancer, especially testicular cancer

Question 5

the cis-platin and trans-platin has the formulae

Answer 5

[Pt(NH3)2(Cl)2]

in cis isomer, the identical ligands are next to each other while in trans, they are opposite each other

Question 6

cis-platin prevents the spread of a cancer tumour by:

Answer 6

• all cells contain deoxyribunucleic acid (DNA)
• during cell division, DNA must separate
• the structure of cis-platin allows it to form a bond between two strands of DNA, so preventing it from separating