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VSEPR calculation for water, OH2

Water has four electron pairs and the coordination geometry of oxygen is based upon a tetrahedral arrangement of electron pairs. Since there are only two bonded groups, there are two lone pairs. Since the lone pairs are not 'seen', the shape of water is bent. The two lone pairs compress the H-O-H bond angle below the ideal tetrahedral angle to 104.5°.

Water, OH2
Lewis structure: H2O.gif
Central atom: oxygen
Valence electrons on central atom: 6
2 H each contribute 1 electron: 2
Total: 8
Divide by 2 to give electron pairs 4
4 electron pairs: tetrahedral for the four shape-determining electron pairs
H2O
The geometry of water, OH2. You can use your mouse to manipulate the molecule in the right hand "JMol" image.

A VSEPR tutorial on the WWW

VSEPR tutorial on the WWW, URL: http://winter.group.shef.ac.uk/vsepr/
Copyright 1996-2015 Prof Mark Winter [The University of Sheffield]. All rights reserved.
Document served: Tuesday 19th March, 2024