CHEMISTRY NOTES: Structures, Shapes, Polarity and IMF’s

DRAWING LEWIS STRUCTURES:

RULES EXAMPLES
NH3 BrCl41− SO2 GaI3
1) Draw the skeleton structure for the molecule.
The central atom will generally be the least
electronegative element in the compound—
often it will be the first element given in the
formula.
2) Determine the total number of valence
electrons in the molecule. If the molecules is
5+3(1) = 8 7+4(7)+1 = 36 6+2(6) = 18 3+3(7) = 24
an ion: add e−s if negative and subtract e−s if
positive.
3) Since each dash represents a bond with 2
e−s, subtract 2 from the total electrons for 8–6=2 36 – 8 = 28 18 – 4 = 14 24 – 6 = 18
every bond in the molecule.
4) Distribute the e−s so that each outside atom
(except H, which only gets 2 e−s) gets 8 e−s.
The outside atoms will always follow the octet
rule, except of course H.

5) Any remaining e−s go on the central atom. no e−s left

central atom
6) Look at the central atom. If it has: (Ga) only has
- 8 or more e−s → you are done central atom 6 e−s; Ga and
central atom
- less than 8 e−s: (N) has 8 e−s central atom I cannot have
(Br) has 12
- if the central atom is C, N, O, S or P (S) only has 6 multiple
e−s; this one
bonded to C, N, O, S or P, add another e−s; needs bonds.
would be done
bond for each pair of e−s short of 8 e−s another bond
except it is an
on the central atom—remove a pair of
ion, so
e−s from the outside atom you draw the
this one is proceed to
extra bond to.
done next step
- if the central atom is any other element
→ you are done. this one is
done

7) If the molecule is an ion, put [ ] around the

drawing with the charge outside the brackets
in the upper right.

this one is
done

8) If you added another bond you may have

resonance. If there is another possible atom
in which the extra bond could be drawn to—
you have resonance and must draw all the
possibilities and put a ↔ between all the
drawings.
this one is
done
DETERMINING SHAPES OF MOLECULES:

 To determine the shape of the molecule you need to look at the central atom in the Lewis structure and determine two
things:
o coordination number → the number of atoms bonded to the central atom
o lone pairs of electrons → the pairs of unbonded electrons on the central atom
 Once you determined the coordination number and lone pairs, you can determine the electronic shape (electron pair
geometry) and the molecular shape of the molecule.
o electronic shape → need the sum of the coordination number and the lone pairs
o molecular shape → use the coordination number and the lone pairs separately
 It should be noted that the extra bonds in the multiple bonds do NOT count in determining the shapes.
 Refer to the following table to determine shapes.
total e− pairs coordination
electronic shape lone pairs molecular shape
on central atom number
2 linear 2 0 linear
3 0 trigonal planar
3 trigonal planar
2 1 bent
4 0 tetrahedral
4 tetrahedral 3 1 trigonal pyramidal
2 2 bent
5 0 trigonal bipyramidal
4 1 teeter totter
5 trigonal bipyramidal
3 2 T-shape
2 3 linear
6 0 octahedral
6 octahedral 5 1 square pyramidal
4 2 square planar

DRAWING MOLECULAR SHAPES

Linear Trigonal Planar Tetrahedral Trigonal Bipyramidal Octahedral

To draw other shapes in the same family, you just need to remove one of the lines except for in the trigonal bipyramidal
family. In the trigonal bipyramidal family, you need to remove lines off the 3 equator lines since lone pairs require more
room than bonded pairs. It is also acceptable to rotate the drawings to fit what you are doing. There are a few shapes
that are best drawn as follows:
bent trigonal pyramidal T-Shape square pyramidal square planar

EXAMPLES:
formula NH3 BrCl41− SO2 GaI3 SeF4

Lewis Structure

coordination number 3 4 2 3 4
lone pairs 1 2 1 0 1
total e− pairs 4 6 3 3 5
electronic shape tetrahedral octahedral trigonal planar trigonal planar trigonal bipyramidal
molecular shape trigonal pyramidal square planar bent trigonal planar teeter totter

drawing of
molecular shape
DETERMINING POLARITY OF MOLECULES:

 Let’s look at a water molecule. According to the Lewis structure for H 2O, the resulting molecular shape is bent.

Lewis molecular
structure shape

The electronegativity of O is 3.5 and H is 2.1, resulting in a polar covalent bond. If we draw in the dipole moment for
this bond and show the partial charges, we get:

If we apply this to the molecule in its molecular shape we get:

If you were to draw a line through the middle of the molecule, you can see there is a separation of charges—there is a
negatively charged side and a positively charged side:

Therefore, H2O is what we call a polar molecule.

 Now, let’s look at CCl4. According to the Lewis structure, CCl4 is a tetrahedral molecule.

Lewis molecular
structure shape

The electronegativity for C is 2.5 and Cl is 3.0, resulting in a polar covalent bond. Drawing in the dipole moment for this
bond and showing the partial charges we get:

If we apply this to the molecule in its molecular shape we get for the dipole moments:

and this for the partial charges:

With this molecule there is no way to draw a line to separate the charges. In fact, since the molecule is symmetrical, all
the dipole moments will cancel each other out. CCl4 is an example of a nonpolar molecule.
DETERMINING POLARITY OF MOLECULE:
 The polarity of a molecule ultimately is determined by the shape of the molecule and whether or not it is symmetrical.

 Start by determining if the bonds in the molecule are polar or nonpolar covalent bonds. Check the electronegativity of
the elements and if the difference between the two elements is:

difference bond type

0 – 0.1 nonpolar covalent
0.2 – 1.9 polar covalent
2.0 and up ionic

If the bond type is in the ionic range, treat the bond as if it is polar when determining the polarity of the molecule.
NOTE: If ALL the bonds are nonpolar covalent, the molecule will be nonpolar regardless of the shape.

 Next, check the shape of the molecule—you need to determine if the shape is symmetrical or not. The following shapes
are symmetrical if ALL the outside atoms are the same:
linear
trigonal planar
tetrahedral
trigonal bipyramidal
linear (in the trigonal planar family)
octahedral
square planar

 If the shape is symmetrical, the molecule will be nonpolar. Otherwise, the molecule is polar. The one exception to this
is for molecules of just 2 atoms—when this occurs, the polarity of the molecule will be the same as the polarity of the
bond.

SUMMARY:

If the bonds are:

 nonpolar covalent → molecule is nonpolar
 polar covalent and the shape is:
o symmetrical → molecule is nonpolar
o not symmetrical → molecule is polar

EXAMPLES:

formula NCl3 BrCl41− SO2 H2CO SeF4 SF6

Lewis Structure

nonpolar
bond type polar covalent polar covalent polar covalent polar covalent polar covalent
covalent
trigonal
molecular shape square planar bent trigonal planar teeter totter octahedral
pyramidal

drawing of
molecular shape

symmetrical? no yes no no no yes

polarity of molecule nonpolar nonpolar polar polar polar nonpolar
DETERMINING INTERMOLECULAR FORCES (IMF) BETWEEN MOLECULES:

 There are basically four different types of IMFs between particles of matter:
o London Forces → found between every particle
o Dipole-Dipole → found between polar molecules
o Hydrogen Bonding → found between polar molecules which have H bonded to a N, O or F
o Ionic Bonds → found between ions, not found between molecules

 Ionic bonds by far is the strongest of the four listed. The other three are quite weak in comparison. However, the order
of the other three in decreasing order of strength is hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole and then London Forces. The
strength of London Forces will increase as molecules get heavier since there are more electrons to generate the forces.
Dipole-dipole increases with larger differences between electronegativities of the elements.

 To determine the type of forces (London Forces, dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding) between molecules you need to
check the polarity of the molecule. If the molecule is:
o nonpolar → London Forces only
o polar with H bonded to N, O or F → hydrogen bonding
o polar without H bonded to N, O or F → dipole-dipole

 Like mentioned before, everything has London Forces, including molecules with dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding.
However, dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding are more dominant and therefore we generally don’t list London Forces
with molecules having these forces.

EXAMPLES:

formula NCl3 BrCl41− SO2 H2CO SeF4 SF6

drawing of
molecular shape

polarity of molecule nonpolar nonpolar polar polar polar nonpolar

DOMINANT IMF London Forces London Forces dipole-dipole dipole-dipole dipole-dipole London Forces

formula NH3 GaI3 CH3OH C2H6

drawing of
molecular shape

polarity of molecule polar nonpolar polar nonpolar

hydrogen hydrogen
DOMINANT IMF London Forces London Forces
bonding bonding

PROPERTIES BASED ON IMF’s:

 There are several important properties molecules have that are dependent on the type of forces between the particles.
There are 4 we will be concerned with: solubility, vapor pressure, melting (freezing) point and boiling point.

SOLUBILITY:
 In order for a solution to form the substances must be able to interact with each other. To do so, they must have similar
IMF’s.
 GENERAL RULE: Like dissolves like.
o Polar substances will dissolve polar substances.
o Nonpolar substances will dissolve nonpolar substances.
o They do not dissolve each other.
 To determine if a substance will dissolve in another substance, you must check the polarity of the substances. If they
are the same, dissolving occurs.

EXAMPLES:
Determine whether the following molecules will dissolve in water or CCl 4.

Remember from a previous page in these notes, H2O is polar and CCl4 is nonpolar.

formula NH3 GaI3 SO2 H2CO SeF4 SF6

drawing of
molecular shape

polarity of molecule polar nonpolar polar polar polar nonpolar

dissolve in H2O CCl4 H2O H2O H2O CCl4

VAPOR PRESSURE:
 The vapor pressure of a liquid is defined as the pressure generated by the vapor above a liquid at equilibrium.
 The amount of vapor that escapes from a liquid depends on the strength of the IMF’s between the particles of the liquid.
o The stronger the IMF, the less vapor that will escape → low vapor pressure.
o The weaker the IMF, the more vapor that will escape → high vapor pressure.

formula H2O CCl4 C2H6 SeF4 IF3

drawing of
molecular shape

polarity of molecule polar nonpolar nonpolar polar polar

DOMINANT IMF hydrogen bonds London Forces London Forces dipole-dipole dipole-dipole
vapor pressure low high high intermediate intermediate

EXAMPLES:
Which one of each of the following pairs has the higher vapor pressure?

Both are polar, but H2O has hydrogen bonding, H2S has dipole-dipole. H2S has
higher vapor pressure.

CCl4 is nonpolar with London Forces. NH3 is polar with hydrogen bonds. CCl4 has
higher vapor pressure.

Both are nonpolar with London Forces. Propane is larger and therefore has stronger
London Forces. Ethane has higher vapor pressure.

ethane
propane
BOILING POINT:
 The boiling point of a liquid is defined as the temperature at which the liquid’s vapor pressure is equal to atmospheric
pressure. Therefore, it is very much dependent on the vapor pressure of the liquid.
 The vapor pressure of a liquid will increase as temperature increases.
 The higher the vapor pressure a liquid has the less heat it needs for its vapor pressure to become equal to atmospheric
pressure. Therefore, the higher the vapor pressure, the lower the boiling point.

Summary:
 The stronger the IMF, the lower the vapor pressure, the higher the boiling point.
 The weaker the IMF, the higher the vapor pressure, the lower the boiling point.

EXAMPLE:
Which of the following pairs of substances has the higher boiling point?

Both are polar, but H2O has hydrogen bonding, H2S has dipole-dipole. H2O has the
lower vapor pressure and, therefore, the higher boiling point.

CCl4 is nonpolar with London Forces. NH3 is polar with hydrogen bonds. NH3 has
the lower vapor pressure and, therefore, the higher boiling point.

Both are nonpolar with London Forces. Propane is larger and therefore has stronger
London Forces. Propane has the lower vapor pressure and, therefore, the higher
boiling point.
ethane
propane

MELTING (FREEZING) POINT:

 In order to melt a substance the forces between the particles of the substance must be broken. The stronger the forces
the more heat is needed to do so, and, therefore the higher the melting point.
Summary
 The stronger the IMF, the higher the melting point.
 The weaker the IMF, the lower the melting point.

EXAMPLES:

H2O has hydrogen bonds between molecules. NaCl has ionic bonds between the ions. The
NaCl
ionic bonds are stronger and therefore NaCl has the higher melting point.

H2CO is polar with dipole-dipole while GaI3 is nonpolar with London Forces. H2CO has the
stronger forces between particles and therefore the higher melting point.

SO2 is polar with dipole-dipole. CO2 is nonpolar with London Forces. SO2 has the stronger
O=C=O
forces and therefore the higher melting point.

Both are nonpolar with London Forces between molecules. SF 6 being larger will have
O=C=O
stronger forces and therefore have a higher melting point.