GENERAL CHEMISTRY I

Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape
TWO GENERAL RULES GOVERN THE USE OF THE VSEPR MODEL
1. As far as electron-pair repulsion is concerned, double bonds and triple bonds can be treated like single bonds. This approximation is good for qualitative purposes.
However, you should realize that in reality multiple bonds are larger than single bonds; that is, because there are two or three bonds between two atoms, the
electron density occupies more space.
2. If a molecule has two or more resonance structures, we can apply the VSEPR model to any one of them. Formal charges are usually not shown.
NOTATIONS

KEY: A: Central Atom, B: Outer Atom, E: Lone Pair

NOTE: The colored lines are used to show the overall shape, not bonds.

Total Number of
Electron Pairs

Class of
Molecule

# of Bonding
Pairs

# of Lone
Pairs

Bond Angle

Electron-Pair
Geometry

Molecular
Geometry

AB

180

Linear

Linear

HCl, CO, N2

AB2

180

Linear

Linear

CS2, HCN, BeF2,

CO2

AB3

120

Trigonal
Planar

Trigonal Planar

SO3, BF3, NO3,

CO32

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General Chemistry I

Geometry of
Molecule or Ion

Examples

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GENERAL CHEMISTRY I

Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape

AB2E

< 120

Bent/ V-shaped

SO2, O3, PbCl2,

SnBr2, SnCl2,
GeCl2

AB4

109.5

Tetrahedral

CH4, SiCl4, SO42,

ClO4

AB3E

< 109.5

Trigonal Pyramidal

NH3, PF3, ClO3,

H3O+, NCl3

AB2E2

< 109.5

Bent/ Angular/
V-shaped

H2O, OF2, SCl2,

OCl2

AB5

90 (ax-eq)
120 (eq-eq)
180 (ax-ax)

Trigonal Pyramidal

PF5, AsF5, SOF4,

PCl5

Seesaw/ Distorted
Tetrahedral

SF4, XeO2F2, lF4+,

IO2F2

Trigonal
Pyramidal

AB4E

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Tetrahedral

< 90 (ax-eq)
< 120 (eq-eq)

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Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape

AB3E2

< 90 (ax-eq)

T-shaped

ClF3, BrF3

AB2E3

180

Linear

XeF2, I3, IF2

AB6

90 (eq-eq)
90 (ax-eq)
180 (ax-ax)

Octahedral

SF6, IOF5

AB5E

< 90

Square Pyramidal

BrF5, TeF5,
XeOF4

AB4E2

90

Square Planar

XeF4, ICl4

Octahedral

General Chemistry I

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GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS/ ADDITIONAL NOTES
A.

Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape

B.

C.

D. MOLECULES IN WHICH THE CENTRAL ATOM HAS ONE OR MORE LONE PAIRS
In general, according to the VSEPR model, the repulsive forces decrease in the following order:
LONE-PAIR VS. LONE-PAIR REPULSION > LONE-PAIR VS. BONDING PAIR REPULSION > BONDING-PAIR VS. BONDING PAIR REPULSION
Electrons in a bond are held by the attractive forces exerted by the nuclei of the two bonded atoms. These electrons have less spatial distribution than lone pairs; that
is, they take up less space than lone-pair electrons, which are associated with only one particular atom. Because lone-pair electrons in a molecule occupy more space,
they experience greater repulsion from neighboring lone pairs and bonding pairs. To keep track of the total number of bonding pairs and lone pairs, we designate
molecules with lone pairs as ABxEy, where A is the central atom, B is a surrounding atom, and E is a lone pair on A. Both x and y are integers; x=2, 3, (For x=1, we have a
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GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape
diatomic molecule, which by definition has a linear geometry.) and y=1, 2, . Thus, the values of x and y indicate the number of surrounding atoms and number of
lone pairs on the central atom, respectively. In most cases the presence of lone pairs on the central atom makes it difficult to predict the bond angles accurately.
E. GEOMETRY OF MOLECULES WITH MORE THAN ONE CENTRAL ATOM
The overall geometry of molecules with more than one central atom is difficult to define in most cases. Often we can only describe
the shape around each of the central atoms. For example, consider methanol, CH3OH, whose Lewis structure is shown below:

The two central (nonterminal) atoms in methanol are C and O. We can say that the three CH and the CO bonding pairs are
tetrahedrally arranged about the C atom. The HCH and OCH bond angles are approximately 109. The O atom here is like the one
in water in that it has two lone pairs and two bonding pairs. Therefore, the HOC portion of the molecule is bent, and the angle
HOC is approximately equal to 105 (Figure 10.2).
F. MULTIPLE BONDS AND MOLECULAR GEOMETRY
Double bonds and triple bonds affect molecular geometry because they are shorter and stronger than single bonds, but multiple bonds have only a minor effect on bond
angles. Why? All electron pairs in a multiple bond are shared between the same two nuclei and therefore occupy the same region of space. Because they must remain
in that region, two electron pairs in a double bond or three electron pairs in a triple bond are like a single, slightly fatter balloon, rather than two or three balloons. Hence,
for the purpose of determining molecular geometry, the electron pairs in a multiple bond constitute a single region of electron density. For example, BeF2 is a linear
molecule with the two BeF single bonds 180 apart. In CO2, each C=O double bond is a single region of electron density, just as each BeF single bond is, so the
structure of CO2 is also linear.
When resonance structures are possible, the geometry can be predicted from the individual resonance structures or from the resonance hybrid. For example, the
geometry of the CO32 ion is predicted to be triangular planar because in each resonance structure there are three regions of electron density, one double bond and two
single bonds. In the resonance hybrid the carbon atom also has three regions of electron density, three equivalent bonds and no lone pairs. Each of the three bonds is
intermediate between a CO single bond and a C=O double bond.

G. EFFECT OF DOUBLE BONDS AND LONE PAIRS

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Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape

H. USING VSEPR THEORY TO DETERMINE MOLECULAR SHAPE

NOTES:
Considered rules for applying the VSEPR model to all types of molecules.
Write the Lewis structure of the molecule, considering only the electron pairs around the central atom (that is, the atom that is bonded to more than one other
atom).
Count the number of electron pairs around the central atom (bonding pairs and lone pairs). Treat double and triple bonds as though they were single bonds.
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GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
Reference Sheet on Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory and Molecular Shape
In predicting bond angles, note that a lone pair repels another lone pair or a bonding pair more strongly than a bonding pair repels another bonding pair.
Remember that in general there is no easy way to predict bond angles accurately when the central atom possesses one or more lone pairs.
The VSEPR model generates reliable predictions of the geometries of a variety of molecular structures. Chemists use the VSEPR approach because of its simplicity.
Although there are some theoretical concerns about whether electron-pair repulsion actually determines molecular shapes, the assumption that it does leads
to useful (and generally reliable) predictions. We need not ask more of any model at this stage in the study of chemistry. Example 10.1 illustrates the application
of VSEPR.
References
Chang, Raymond. Chemistry. 10th. McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Moore, John W. and Conrad L. Stanitski. Chemistry: The Molecular Science. 5th. Cengage Learning, 2015.
Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change. 5th. McGraw-Hill, 2009.

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