Name: electron geometry and lone pairs
Uploaded: 2026-06-01T06:28:16.246Z
Duration: 1 min 18 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

Minnesota Academic Standards in Science

9-12

Chemistry

4.2.1 9C.3.2.1.2

Molecular Shapes

Molecules have characteristic shapes that are important for their functions.
 
 Any diatomic molecule, such as molecular oxygen or hydrogen, is always linear.
 
 As the number of atoms increases, the arrangement of electrons around the central atom influences the shape of the molecule, allowing it to bend and form more complex structures.
 
 Negatively charged electron groups repel one another and try to stay as far apart as possible.
 
 For example, in a water molecule, the oxygen atom forms two bonding pairs of electrons with two hydrogen atoms and has two additional pairs of electrons that are not involved in bonding, called lone pairs of electrons.
 
 These two lone pairs push the bonding pairs around the oxygen atom to about 104.5 degrees, where repulsion is lowest, giving the water molecule a bent shape.
 
 Some biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins, may contain anywhere from a few to millions of atoms.
 
 These large biomolecules are stabilized by intermolecular forces, such as hydrogen bonding, or intramolecular forces, like hydrophobic interactions, allowing them to form long chains and rings that fold into three-dimensional shapes.
 
 They also use structure-specific recognition to interact with other molecules.
 
 For example, opiates with active regions that are structurally similar to endorphins can bind to endorphin receptors and relieve pain.

geometria delle molecole

La forma di una molecola contribuisce alla sua funzione e alle sue interazioni con altre molecole. Nel corso degli anni, sono stati sviluppati molti modelli diversi per la rappresentazione visiva delle molecole.<h4>Rappresentazioni bidimensionali delle molecole</h4>Le strutture di Lewis furono sviluppate da Gilbert Newton Lewis, che pubblic&#xF2; per la prima volta queste strutture nel suo articolo &#x22;The Atom and the Molecule&#x22; nel 1916. Le strutture di Lewis utilizzano i simboli chimici per gli elementi. Le linee che collegano gli elementi rappresentano legami covalenti, e le coppie di punti rappresentano coppie di elettroni che non partecipano a un legame.La struttura della linea di legame &#xE8; un modo pi&#xF9; semplice per visualizzare le molecole organiche (basate sul carbonio) rispetto alla struttura di Lewis. Nelle strutture delle linee di legame, gli atomi di carbonio e idrogeno sono intesi in qualsiasi luogo in cui una linea termina o si piega ad angolo, piuttosto che essere esplicitamente disegnata. Le strutture delle linee di legame sono particolarmente utili per modellare molecole pi&#xF9; grandi che contengono grandi quantit&#xE0; di carbonio e idrogeno o catene di idrocarburi molto lunghe, come quelle comunemente incontrate nella chimica organica e nella biochimica.<h4>Rappresentazioni tridimensionali delle molecole</h4>I modelli 2D sono utili per comprendere le strutture molecolari di base. Tuttavia, per prevedere come le molecole interagiranno tra loro e con altre sostanze, &#xE8; importante capire come le molecole esistono nello spazio tridimensionale. I &#x22;ball and stick models&#x22; (modelli di palla e bastone) mostrano le relazioni 3D tra gli atomi all&#x27;interno di una molecola.I modelli di riempimento dello spazio estendono ulteriormente il concetto dei &#x22;bal and stick models&#x22; , fornendo una visione 3D pi&#xF9; accurata delle molecole raffigurando gli atomi in modo da mantenere il rapporto dei raggi atomici. Invece di usare le linee tra gli atomi per rappresentare i legami, la vicinanza delle sfere l&#x27;una all&#x27;altra indica la forza del legame. Gli atomi con legami pi&#xF9; forti, come i doppi legami, sono rappresentati da sfere che si sovrappongono di pi&#xF9; rispetto a sfere che rappresentano atomi pi&#xF9; debolmente legati. L&#x27;etichettatura degli atomi con i loro simboli chimici non &#xE8; generalmente necessaria, perch&#xE9; i modelli di riempimento dello spazio e &#x22;ball and stick&#x22; utilizzano entrambi colori standardizzati per rappresentare atomi di elementi diversi. Il rosso rappresenta l&#x27;ossigeno, il nero &#xE8; carbonio e il bianco &#xE8; idrogeno. Altri elementi che comunemente formano composti covalenti, tra cui azoto, zolfo, fosforo, cloro, fluoro e bromo, sono indicati anche da colori specifici.

Geometria delle molecole

Molecules have characteristic shapes that are crucial for their function. The arrangement of various electron groups around the central atom dictates ...

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electron geometry and lone pairs

Electron geometry and lone pairs help explain why molecules take specific shapes. The arrangement of electron groups around a central atom controls the molecular geometry. Valence electrons form bonding pairs, which sit mainly between bonded atoms, or lone pairs, which belong to one atom only.

Electron pairs in the valence shell spread out to reduce repulsion. They do this by maximizing the distance between one another. A diatomic molecule has two regions of electron density, and these are arranged linearly on opposite sides of the central atom.

As the number of electron groups increases, the geometry changes in a predictable way. Three electron groups form a trigonal planar arrangement. Four electron groups form a tetrahedron, five electron groups form a trigonal bipyramidal geometry, and six groups form an octahedral arrangement.

Electron-pair geometry is not always the same as molecular structure. Electron-pair geometry includes every region where electrons are found, including bonds and lone pairs. Molecular structure describes where the atoms are located, not the electrons. These two shapes are the same only when the central atom has no lone pairs.

Lone pairs take up more space than bonding pairs because they are held by only one nucleus. A bonding pair is shared by two nuclei, so it occupies less space. For that reason, lone pair-lone pair repulsions are stronger than lone pair-bonding pair repulsions, and bonding pair-bonding pair repulsions are weaker still.

Electron Geometry and Lone Pairs

the periodic table and organismal elements

the-periodic-table-and-organismal-elements

Periodic Table Basics for Living Things

The periodic table helps explain which elements living things need and how those elements are related. Elements are the smallest units of matter that cannot be broken down further by chemical processes. There are 118 known elements, but not all occur naturally, and even fewer are essential for life. Living matter is made mostly of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. Together, these elements make up most of the human body and are also found in all life on Earth. Smaller amounts of calcium,...

atomic structure

Atoms and Their Subatomic Particles

Atoms are the smallest units of elements, and they make up all matter. Each atom contains three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. These particles give an atom its mass and its charge. The idea that matter is made of tiny particles goes back to Democritus, a Greek philosopher around 450 B.C. He used the word atomos, which means “indivisible.” The idea was not accepted at the time, but it returned many centuries later. In the 19th century, John Dalton proposed an atomic...

isotopes

Atomic Mass and Isotope Basics

Atomic mass and isotopes are linked by the number of protons and neutrons in an atom. The number of protons sets an element’s atomic number, or Z. For example, every atom with eight protons is oxygen. Atoms of the same element can still differ because they can have different numbers of neutrons. The mass number, or A, is the total of protons and neutrons. Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called isotopes. Elements can have several isotopes. Carbon-12, carbon-13,...

electron behavior

Electron Shells and Valence Electrons

Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that occupy regions around the positively charged nucleus of an atom. Their location is linked to energy levels called shells. They are also grouped into sub-shells and orbitals within each shell. An electron’s shell shows its general energy level. Electrons closer to the nucleus have less energy, while electrons farther away have more energy. The sub-shell gives a more exact location and energy level. An orbital is the shape of the region...

electron orbital model

Electron Orbitals and Energy Levels

Electron orbitals show where electrons are most likely to be found around the atomic nucleus. They also help explain energy levels, orbital shapes, and three-dimensional orientation. In an atom, electron location is described first by a shell, or principal energy level. It is then described by a subshell within that shell and by the individual orbitals inside each subshell. The first shell is closest to the nucleus. It has only one subshell and one spherical orbital, called the 1s orbital.

covalent bonds

Electronegativity and Covalent Bond Polarity

Covalent bonds form when two atoms share electrons to fill their valence shells. The way those shared electrons are pulled depends on electronegativity, which is an atom’s ability to attract electrons in a bond. When atoms have similar electronegativities, they form nonpolar covalent bonds. When their electronegativities differ, the bond is polar because the electrons are shared unevenly. The number of covalent bonds an atom can make depends on its valence electrons. Oxygen has six valence...

ionic bonds

Ionic Compounds and Electrolytes

Ionic compounds form when atoms gain or lose electrons to reach a more stable electron configuration. The charged particles that result are called ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between oppositely charged ions. The most reactive elements include those with one valence electron, such as potassium, and those that need one more valence electron, such as chlorine. Ions that lose electrons become positive cations. Ions that gain electrons become negative anions. Cations and anions...

hydrogen bonds

Hydrogen Bonds in Water

Hydrogen bonds in water are weak attractions between atoms that are already part of other chemical bonds. One atom is electronegative, such as oxygen, and carries a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that is bonded to another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge. These attractions form because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom like oxygen or nitrogen. The electrons in that bond are shared unequally.

van der waals interactions

Intermolecular Forces in Polar Solutions

Intermolecular forces are the attractions and repulsions that act between atoms and molecules. These electrostatic forces come from particles with permanent, partial, or temporary charges. For neutral atoms and molecules, the main types are ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, and dispersion forces, which are together called van der Waals forces. Polar molecules have a partial positive end and a partial negative end. That separation of charge creates a dipole. In water, oxygen is more electronegative...

elements and compounds

Elements, Compounds, and Bonding

Elements and compounds are the two main kinds of pure substances. A pure substance contains only one kind of matter. An element contains only one type of atom. A compound contains two or more types of atoms joined by a chemical bond. Elements can be atomic or molecular, depending on their basic units. They are unique forms of matter with specific chemical and physical properties. Ordinary chemical reactions cannot break an element into a smaller substance. There are 118 elements, but only 98...

molecular shapes

Electron geometry and lone pairs help explain why molecules take specific shapes. The arrangement of electron groups around a central atom controls the molecular geometry. Valence electrons form bonding pairs, which sit mainly between bonded atoms, or lone pairs, which belong to one atom only. Electron pairs in the valence shell spread out to reduce repulsion. They do this by maximizing the distance between one another. A diatomic molecule has two regions of electron density, and these are...

pH Scale in Everyday Solutions

pH measures how acidic or basic a water-based solution is. It depends on the concentration of hydronium ions, H3O+, in the solution. In one liter of pure water at neutral pH, there are 1×10−7 moles of hydronium ions. Because hydronium ion levels can vary over a very wide range, measuring pH directly in moles is not practical. The pH scale converts hydronium ion concentration into a negative logarithm. Pure water has a pH of 7 and is neutral. Most solutions fall between 0 and 14, but some, such...

chemical reactions

Atoms, Bonds, and Chemical Reactions

Chemical reactions rearrange atoms to form new substances. In a reaction, the starting materials are called reactants, and the new substances are called products. The atoms stay the same type and number, but their bonds change, so the substances become different compounds. During a chemical reaction, bonds between atoms break and form again. This means the shared electrons are rearranged. Some reactions happen on their own, while others need an energy source such as heat or light. In biology,...

redox reactions

Electron Transfer in Redox

Redox reactions are chemical reactions that involve electron transfer between atoms or molecules. When one particle gains electrons, another must lose them at the same time. That is why oxidation and reduction always happen together. The two roles in a redox reaction are linked. The atom that is oxidized acts as the reducing agent, or reductant. The atom that is reduced acts as the oxidizing agent, or oxidant. A simple way to remember the ideas is OIL-RIG, which means oxidation is losing...

cohesion

Water Molecules and Surface Tension

Water molecules stick to each other through cohesion. Water is neutral overall, but it is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in one water molecule has a partial negative charge, and it can bind with a hydrogen atom that has a partial positive charge in another water molecule. This forms a hydrogen bond. Each water molecule can form up to four hydrogen bonds with other water molecules, and these bonds give water its cohesive nature. Cohesion helps water form droplets on a surface. Water does not...

adhesion

Water Climbing by Adhesion

Water can climb or stick to surfaces because of adhesion, which is the attraction between different kinds of molecules. In water, this is easy to see on polar surfaces such as glass or cellulose in plants. The positive hydrogen side of water is more attracted to the negative oxygen in silica than to nearby water molecules. This attraction helps explain capillary action. If a narrow glass tube is placed in a beaker of water, water molecules attach to the tube’s surface and the water level rises.

states of water

Water Phase Changes and Ice Density

Water changes between solid, liquid, and gas states as temperature and molecular motion change. In this lesson, the focus is on how water freezes, melts, vaporizes, and returns to liquid or solid form. The balance between intermolecular forces, which pull molecules together, and kinetic energy, which pushes them apart, controls each state. Water freezes when intermolecular forces become stronger than kinetic energy. Unlike most substances, ice is less dense than liquid water. This happens...

specific heat

How Specific Heat Affects Temperature

Specific heat capacity describes how much energy a substance needs to rise by 1 degree Celsius for each gram. It is often written with calories, grams, and degrees Celsius, but it can also be shown in joules, kilograms, and Kelvin. For water, 1 gram needs 1 calorie to increase by 1°C, which is also written as 1 cal/g-°C or 4186 J/kg/K. Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it takes in a large amount of heat before its temperature changes much. It also gives off a lot of heat when it...

vaporization

Vaporization, Boiling, and Evaporation

Vaporization changes a liquid into vapor when temperature adds enough kinetic energy to overcome intermolecular forces. It is a surface phenomenon, which means it starts at the liquid’s surface. The energy needed to vaporize a set amount of liquid at a given pressure and constant temperature is called the heat of vaporization. Water shows this process clearly. When liquid water is vaporized, it becomes steam. One way this happens is boiling, which occurs when vapor bubbles form beneath the...

solvents

Water as a Biological Solvent

Water acts as a biological solvent in many living systems. A solvent is a substance, usually a liquid, that dissolves another substance called a solute. When a solvent and a solute mix, they form a solution, which is a uniform mixture of both parts. Water is called a universal biological solvent because its polar structure helps it dissolve many other polar compounds. Polarity means that one side of the molecule has a slight positive charge and the other side has a slight negative charge.

carbon skeletons

Carbon Backbones in Biomolecules

Carbon backbones give biological molecules their structure and flexibility. Living things are built from macromolecules that contain carbon atoms, and organic compounds are defined by a carbon backbone. Carbon is tetravalent, so each carbon atom can bond with four other atoms. Its valence electrons are stable, so carbon rarely becomes an ion. As carbon chains get longer, they can form ring structures, double bonds, and branching side chains. Carbon-carbon bonds create the carbon skeleton.

key terms and concepts

Learn how bonding pairs and lone pairs set molecular geometry, from linear and trigonal planar to tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal, and octahedral shapes.

Electron Geometry and Lone Pairs | JoVE K12

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9C.3.2.1.3

4 Communicating reasons, arguments and ideas to others
 4.2 Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information
  4.2.1 Students will be able to read and interpret multiple sources to obtain information, evaluate the merit and validity of claims and design solutions, and communicate information, ideas, and evidence in a variety of formats.

Electron Geometry and Lone Pairs

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