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What is the electron domain geometry and molecular geometry of SH₄O?

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Final answer:

The electron domain geometry of SH4O, likely a typo for H2SO3, is trigonal bipyramidal, while the molecular geometry is a seesaw shape due to the presence of a lone pair of electrons on the sulfur atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

The electron domain geometry refers to the arrangement of both bond pairs and lone pairs of electrons around the central atom. The molecule in question, SH4O, which appears to be a typo since there is no known stable chemical species with this formula. However, it seems like the question might be referring to sulfurous acid (H2SO3), where the sulfur atom is the central atom. In sulfurous acid, sulfur has four bonding pairs and one lone pair of electrons, which corresponds to a trigonal bipyramidal electron domain geometry. Due to the presence of a lone pair, the actual molecular geometry is described as a seesaw shape, which is a distorted version of the tetrahedral geometry.

For molecules where the central atom has three bonded atoms and no lone pairs, such as in BH3, the electron domain geometry and molecular geometry are both trigonal planar. However, if there's a lone pair, like in NH3 (ammonia), the electron domain geometry remains trigonal pyramidal, but the molecular geometry becomes trigonal pyramidal, with a slightly less than 109.5 angle due to the repulsion of the lone pair.

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