Valence Bond Theory & Hybridization
The sections on
Lewis structures and Valence Bond Theory are largely a review which includes
molecular shapes and polarity, multiple bonding, formal charges and hybridization.
One topic which is not in the text is the relationship between hybridization
and measured bond angles. For molecules with distortion, usually
due to one or more lone pairs of electrons, the extent of hybridization
in both the bonding and non-bonding orbitals can be calculated if the bond
angle is known. The relationship (for hybridization involving s and
p orbitals only) is as follows:
cos q
= s/s-1 = p-1/p
where q
is the measured bond angle, s is the fraction of s character in bonding
orbitals, and p is the fraction of p character in the bonding orbitals
ammonia has bond angles of 107o.
Determine the percent s and p character in both the bonding and non-bonding
hybrid orbitals.
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Copyright ©1998 Beverly
J. Volicer and Steven F. Tello, UMass Lowell. You may freely edit
these pages for use in a non-profit, educational setting. Please
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