How many hybrid orbitals are found in CCl4?
one
two
three
four
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is four.
In CCl₄ (carbon tetrachloride), the central atom is carbon, which is bonded to four chlorine atoms. The carbon atom undergoes sp³ hybridization to form four equivalent hybrid orbitals. This is because carbon has four valence electrons and needs to form four covalent bonds, one with each chlorine atom.
For the hybridization process to occur, carbon’s 2s orbital combines with its three 2p orbitals, resulting in four equivalent sp³ hybrid orbitals. Each of these hybrid orbitals will form a sigma bond with the chlorine atoms, using one of the four bonding pairs of electrons. The bond angles in CCl₄ are approximately 109.5°, which is characteristic of tetrahedral geometry, the result of sp³ hybridization.
The sp³ hybridization in CCl₄ leads to a tetrahedral molecular geometry, and the bond formation is facilitated by the overlap of the carbon’s hybrid orbitals with the chlorine’s p orbitals. The hybrid orbitals on carbon each form a single sigma bond with the 3p orbitals of chlorine, completing the octet on both atoms.
This configuration allows CCl₄ to be a stable, non-polar molecule due to the symmetrical distribution of charge. Even though the individual C-Cl bonds are polar, the symmetry of the tetrahedral shape cancels out any dipole moments, resulting in no overall dipole moment for the molecule.
Thus, in CCl₄, there are four sp³ hybrid orbitals formed from the combination of carbon’s s and p orbitals, one of which forms a bond with each chlorine atom.