Question

What is the (Molecular) shape of the IF3 molecule?

A) T-shaped B) Trigonal Planar C) Trigonal Pyramidal D) Tetrahedral E) Bent

Answer 1

Concepts and reason

The concept used here is based on the Lewis structure and Valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR ) theory.

Firstly draw the Lewis structure of . After that identify the shape of the using VSEPR theory.

Fundamentals

Lewis structure:

It is an electron dot structure which represents the bonding and nonbonding electrons on each atom in a molecule

One of the examples is given below.

Bonding electrons:

These are the electron pairs which take part in the bond formation by the two atoms.

Non-bonding electrons:

These are the electron pairs which are not involved in bonding. These are also known as “Lone pairs”. These are found in the outermost shell of an atom.

Valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR ) theory:

This theory is used to predict the hybridization, shape, and geometry of molecules on the basis of a number of atoms and electron pairs.

The total valence electrons of is shown below.

The Lewis dot structure of is shown below.

The geometry of is shown below.

Hence, the geometry is Trigonal bipyramidal and the shape is T-shaped.

Ans:

The shape of is T-shaped.