Question

describe the hybrid orbitals on the chlorine atom in the clo3- and clo4- molecular ions. give the expected geometries of these ions.

Answer 1

In ClO3- the chlorine is sp3 hybridized with trigonal pyramidal geometry, while in ClO4- the chlorine is also sp3 hybridized but with a tetrahedral geometry.

Step-by-step explanation:

The hybrid orbitals on the chlorine atom in the ClO3- and ClO4- molecular ions can be described following the principles of VSEPR theory and orbital hybridization.

For the ClO3- ion, the chlorine atom has three bonding pairs and one lone pair of electrons, resulting in a tetrahedral electron pair geometry. However, due to the presence of the lone pair, the molecular geometry is trigonal pyramidal. In this case, the chlorine is sp3 hybridized.

For the ClO4- ion, chlorine has four bonding pairs of electrons with no lone pairs, which also results in a tetrahedral electron pair geometry, and the molecular geometry is also tetrahedral.

Here, the chlorine atom is also sp3 hybridized. The expected geometries of these ions are trigonal pyramidal for ClO3- and tetrahedral for ClO4-.