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Of the following species, __________ will have bond angles of 120°.

a. PH₃
b. ClF₃
c. NCl₃
d. BCl₃
e. All of these will have bond angles of 120°.

User Oendrila
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Final answer:

Of the species listed, only BCl₃ will have bond angles of 120° because it has a trigonal planar electron-pair geometry and molecular structure with no lone pairs on the central atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

Of the following species, BCl₃ will have bond angles of 120°. This is because BCl₃ has a trigonal planar electron-pair geometry and a trigonal planar molecular structure. Since there are no lone pairs of electrons on the central boron atom, the three regions of high electron density (from the B-Cl bonds) will spread out equally in a plane around the central atom, resulting in bond angles of exactly 120°.

Looking at the other molecules: PH₃ has a tetrahedral electron-pair geometry and a trigonal pyramidal molecular structure; ClF₃ has a trigonal bipyramidal electron-pair geometry and a T-shaped molecular structure; NCl₃ also has a tetrahedral electron-pair geometry and a trigonal pyramidal molecular structure. Therefore, none of these molecules will have bond angles of 120° due to the presence of lone pairs and different electron-pair geometries.

User Derjanb
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