Unit 2 · Compound Structure and Properties

Chapter 2.4

The Shapes of Molecules: VSEPR, Hybridization, and Polarity

Water bends, carbon dioxide is straight, and that one difference is why one is a greenhouse gas and the other is what falls from the sky. Electron pairs push each other apart, and the shape follows.

in preparation · lesson 8 of 45

By the end

  1. 01Predict a molecule's geometry and bond angles from its Lewis diagram with VSEPR
  2. 02Name a central atom's hybridization as sp, sp², or sp³ with its ideal angle
  3. 03Distinguish sigma from pi bonds and explain why a pi bond blocks rotation
  4. 04Decide whether a molecule is polar from its shape and bond dipoles

In unit 2

  1. 2.1Types of Bonds and the Energy of Holding Atoms Together
  2. 2.2Ionic Solids, Metals, and Alloys: How Solids Are Built
  3. 2.3Lewis Diagrams, Resonance, and Formal Charge
  4. 2.4The Shapes of Molecules: VSEPR, Hybridization, and Polarity
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