VSEPR Flashcards
What are the abundant greenhouse gases?
nitrogen and oxygen
What are the trace atmospheric gases?
water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone
What are the ways bonds vibrate?
symmetric stretching
asymmetric stretching
scissoring
rocking
What is the VSEPR theory?
why are molecules like CH4 in that particular shape?
What does VSEPR stand for?
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model
What does VSEPR give us?
gives us 3D shapes of molecules and tells us what effect lone pairs can have on molecules
What is the VSEPR theory based on?
the concept that electrons repel one another in 3D space (want to be as far apart as possible)
What are 2 important things to do when determining VSEPR geometry?
1) Draw accurate Lewis dot structures
pay attention to lone pairs on central atom
oxygen and nitrogen almost always have lone pairs on them
2) count total number of electron groups around central atom
bonded atoms and lone pairs both count as electron groups
What are the 2 types of VSEPR geometry?
electron and molecule geometry
What is electron geometry?
VSEPR geometry of all groups around central atoms, bonded atoms, and lone pairs
What is molecular geometry?
VSEPR geometry of bonded groups only
lone pairs are invisible
parts of molecule you actually see
will be affected by presence of lone pairs
What does a solid line mean?
bond in plane of paper
What does a hatched wedge mean?
bond going into the page
What does a solid wedge mean?
bond coming out of the page
What does the A in AXE geometry stand for?
central atom
