Multiple Choice
What is the electron-domain geometry (electron geometry) around the iodine atom in (ignoring molecular shape)?
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10. Chemical Bonding
Electron Geometry (Simplified)
Multiple Choice
What is the electron geometry around the central Xe atom in (XeF4)?
A
Tetrahedral
B
Square planar
C
Octahedral
D
Trigonal bipyramidal
Verified step by step guidance1
Identify the central atom in the molecule, which is xenon (Xe) in XeF\_4.
Determine the number of valence electrons for the central atom. Xenon has 8 valence electrons.
Count the number of bonding pairs and lone pairs around the central atom. XeF\_4 has 4 fluorine atoms bonded to xenon, so there are 4 bonding pairs. Since xenon has 8 valence electrons and uses 4 for bonding, the remaining 4 electrons form 2 lone pairs.
Use the VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) theory to predict the electron geometry. With 4 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs, the electron pairs arrange themselves to minimize repulsion, which corresponds to an octahedral electron geometry.
Note that while the electron geometry is octahedral, the molecular shape (considering only atoms) is square planar due to the positions of the lone pairs.
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