Question

A central atom to which 3 "things" are attached can take 2 different geometries: ? and

trigonal planar.
Which shape the atom takes depends on if one of the attached "things" is a nonbonding pair of
electrons. If all three things are bonding atoms then the shape is ? .
However, if one of those things is a pair of nonbonding electrons then the shape is ?.

Answer 1

The shape of a central atom with 3 attached things depends on whether one of those things is a nonbonding pair of electrons. If all three things are bonding atoms, the shape is trigonal planar. If one of those things is a pair of nonbonding electrons, the shape is bent.

Step-by-step explanation:

The shape that a central atom with 3 attached "things" takes depends on whether one of those things is a nonbonding pair of electrons. If all three things are bonding atoms, the shape is trigonal planar. However, if one of those things is a pair of nonbonding electrons, the shape is bent.

For example, if we have a central carbon (C) atom with three attached atoms, and all three are bonding atoms, the molecule has a trigonal planar shape. But if one of those atoms is replaced by a nonbonding pair of electrons, the molecule takes on a bent shape.

An example of a molecule with trigonal planar shape is boron trifluoride (BF3), where the central atom boron is bonded to three fluorine atoms. An example of a molecule with bent shape is water (H2O), where the central oxygen (O) atom is bonded to two hydrogen (H) atoms and has two nonbonding pairs of electrons.