University11 min

VSEPR: predicting shapes with AXnEm

Go from the Lewis structure to the AXnEm label, then to shape and angles: arrangement, where lone pairs sit, departures from the ideal angles.

The essentials

1

The postulate and the notation

The valence electron pairs of the central atom arrange themselves so as to minimise their repulsions. The label is AXnEm\text{AX}_n\text{E}_m: A the central atom, nn the number of bonded atoms, mm the number of lone pairs on A. A double or triple bond counts as one domain; n+mn + m is the number of electron domains.
2

The five arrangements

Members only

3

Arrangement is not geometry

Members only

4

The repulsion hierarchy

Members only

5

Trigonal bipyramid: two kinds of position

Members only

ƒWrite my own sheetOr start from a blank page: rewriting a concept in your own words is how it sticks.