BRAINCAKEBF3 and SF6 and PCl5
Electron pairs around a central atom repel each other and move as far apart as possible. This electron pair repulsion decides the shape of molecules with three, five and six bonding pairs.
Boron trifluoride, BF3, has three bonding pairs and no lone pairs around boron. The shape is trigonal planar with bond angles of 120°.
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More in Shapes and Intermolecular Forces
- Electron Pair Repulsion Theory
- Three and Four Electron Pairs
- Polyatomic ions.
- More examples.
- Electronegativity
- Bond Polarity
- Polar Solvents and Solubility
- Induced Dipole-Dipole Interactions (London Forces)
All 13 lessons in Shapes and Intermolecular Forces · All OCR AS-level Chemistry topics