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Two Pairs of Electrons

If there are two pairs of electrons around the atom the molecule is linear with a bond angle of 180°.An example is Beryllium Chloride BeCl2.In spite of beryllium chloride being made from a metal and non-metal, beryllium atoms are covalently bonded to chlorine atoms in the gas phase.
The maximum number of covalent bonds that can be formed by each atom sharing one of its electrons is equal to the number of outer shell electrons.For group 2 and 3 this may result in the empty orbitals being used for dative covalent bonds.

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Specification: AQA Chemistry (7404), AS-level, 3.1.3.5 Shapes of simple molecules and ions. Topic: Bonding.

Key terms in this lesson

Atomic orbital
A region in space around the nucleus where there is a 95% probability of finding an electron of a given energy.
Covalent bond
A strong electrostatic attraction between a shared pair of electrons and the nuclei of the bonded atoms.
Group
A vertical column of the periodic table, containing elements with the same number of outer-shell electrons.

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