Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 10: Problem 71

Which of the following species is not likely to have a tetrahedral shape? (a) \(\operatorname{SiBr}_{4},\) (b) \(\mathrm{NF}_{4}^{+}\) (c) \(\mathrm{SF}_{4}\) (d) \(\mathrm{BeCl}_{4}^{2-},\) (e) \(\mathrm{BF}_{4}^{-},\) (f) \(\mathrm{AlCl}_{4}^{-}\)

Short Answer

Expert verified
The species not likely to have a tetrahedral shape are Sulfur Tetrafluoride (\(\mathrm{SF}_{4}\)) and the ion \(\mathrm{AlCl}_{4}^{-}\)

Step by step solution

01

Understand Tetrahedral Geometry

A molecule or ion has tetrahedral geometry if it possesses four electron groups. These can be bond pairs or non-bond pairs. This structure is said to be tetrahedral because it can be visualized as a tetrahedron, a symmetric geometric figure with four identical faces.
02

Identification of Tetrahedral Molecules

Silicon Tetrabromide (\(\operatorname{SiBr}_{4}\)) has 4 bond pairs around the Si atom, hence it has tetrahedral geometry. Similarly, molecules like \(\mathrm{NF}_{4}^{+}, \mathrm{BeCl}_{4}^{2-},\) and \(\mathrm{BF}_{4}^{-}\) also have 4 bond pairs surrounding the central atom.
03

Identify Outlier

Sulfur Tetrafluoride (\(\mathrm{SF}_{4}\)) has 4 bond pairs and 1 lone pair of electrons on Sulphur atom. Due to the presence of a lone pair, the shape would not be tetrahedral but 'see-saw'. And the ion like \(\mathrm{AlCl}_{4}^{-}\) has 4 bond pairs, but aluminium has a valence shell configuration of 3, therefore, to have 4 bonds aluminium needs to use one of the 3p orbitals which results in a flat planar geometry.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Nitryl fluoride (FNO \(_{2}\) ) is very reactive chemically. The fluorine and oxygen atoms are bonded to the nitrogen atom. (a) Write a Lewis structure for FNO \(_{2}\). (b) Indicate the hybridization of the nitrogen atom. (c) Describe the bonding in terms of molecular orbital theory. Where would you expect delocalized molecular orbitals to form?

Describe the geometry around each of the three central atoms in the \(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COOH}\) molecule.

Sketch the bond moments and resultant dipole moments for the following molecules: \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}, \mathrm{PCl}_{3},\) \(\mathrm{XeF}_{4}, \mathrm{PCl}_{5}, \mathrm{SF}_{6}\)

Give the formula of an anion comprised of iodine and fluorine in which the iodine atom is \(s p^{3}\) \(d^{2}\) -hybridized.

What is the state of hybridization of the central \(\mathrm{O}\) atom in \(\mathrm{O}_{3} ?\) Describe the bonding in \(\mathrm{O}_{3}\) in terms of delocalized molecular orbitals.
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Chemical Reactions

Read Explanation

Nuclear Chemistry

Read Explanation

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

Ionic and Molecular Compounds

Read Explanation

Organic Chemistry

Read Explanation

Kinetics

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free