Question

You will need to draw the Lewis structure of PF3 in theprocess of answering this question.

a) How many shared pairs are in this molecule? Type a number, not a word.
b) How many lone pairs are on the phosphorus atom? Type a number, not a word.
c) What is the P/F bond order?

Answer 1

The PF3 molecule has three shared pairs of electrons, two lone pairs of electrons on the phosphorus atom, and a bond order of 1 between each phosphorus and fluorine atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the Lewis structure of PF3, first consider the valence electrons of phosphorus (P) and fluorine (F). Phosphorus has five valence electrons, while each fluorine atom has seven valence electrons.

When drawing the Lewis structure, you arrange the electrons to follow the octet rule, which results in three single bonds between the phosphorus and the three fluorine atoms.

a) There are three shared pairs (one for each P-F bond) in this molecule, as each bond represents a pair of shared electrons.

b) After forming three single bonds with the fluorine atoms, there are two lone pairs remaining on the phosphorus atom.

c) The P/F bond order in PF3 is '1' because there is only one bond between each phosphorus and fluorine atom.