{"id":216553,"date":"2025-05-19T13:58:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=216553"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:58:32","slug":"draw-the-lewis-structure-of-xecl2-and-then-determine-the-hybridization-of-the-central-atom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/19\/draw-the-lewis-structure-of-xecl2-and-then-determine-the-hybridization-of-the-central-atom\/","title":{"rendered":"Draw the Lewis structure of XeCl2 and then determine the hybridization of the central atom."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Draw the Lewis structure of XeCl2 and then determine the hybridization of the central atom. Draw the Lewis structure of SOF4 (with minimized formal charges) and then determine the hybridization of the central atom. Determine the hybridization of the central atom. Draw the Lewis structure of phosphate (PO43-) with minimized formal charges and then determine the hybridization of the central atom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-0-color\">The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s examine the Lewis structures and determine the <strong>hybridization<\/strong> of the <strong>central atoms<\/strong> for <strong>XeCl\u2082<\/strong>, <strong>SOF\u2084<\/strong>, and <strong>PO\u2084\u00b3\u207b<\/strong>, along with an explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <strong>XeCl\u2082 (Xenon Dichloride)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lewis Structure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Xe is the central atom with <strong>8 valence electrons<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Each Cl brings <strong>7 valence electrons<\/strong>, totaling <strong>14<\/strong> from two Cl atoms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Total valence electrons = 8 (Xe) + 14 (Cl) = <strong>22 electrons<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>After forming two single bonds with Cl atoms (4 electrons used), <strong>18 electrons<\/strong> remain. Place <strong>three lone pairs<\/strong> (6 electrons) on Xe to complete its octet and minimize formal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Electron geometry<\/strong>: <strong>Trigonal bipyramidal<\/strong><br><strong>Molecular geometry<\/strong>: <strong>Linear<\/strong><br><strong>Hybridization of Xe<\/strong>: <strong>sp\u00b3d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Explanation: 2 bonding pairs + 3 lone pairs = 5 regions of electron density \u2192 <strong>sp\u00b3d hybridization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong>SOF\u2084 (Thionyl Tetrafluoride)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lewis Structure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>S is central: 6 valence electrons<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>O contributes 6, and each F contributes 7 \u00d7 4 = 28<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Total = 6 (S) + 6 (O) + 28 (F) = <strong>40 electrons<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Make 4 single bonds with F and one <strong>double bond with O<\/strong> to minimize formal charges. This uses 10 electrons. The rest are used to complete octets for F and O.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Electron geometry<\/strong>: <strong>Trigonal bipyramidal<\/strong><br><strong>Hybridization of S<\/strong>: <strong>sp\u00b3d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Explanation: 5 regions of electron density (4 single bonds with F, 1 double bond with O) \u2192 <strong>sp\u00b3d hybridization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. <strong>Phosphate ion (PO\u2084\u00b3\u207b)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lewis Structure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>P = 5 valence electrons<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>O = 6 \u00d7 4 = 24<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extra 3 electrons for the 3\u207b charge \u2192 Total = <strong>32 electrons<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To minimize formal charges, make <strong>one P=O double bond<\/strong> and three P\u2013O\u207b single bonds. Each O gets lone pairs to complete octets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Electron geometry<\/strong>: <strong>Tetrahedral<\/strong><br><strong>Hybridization of P<\/strong>: <strong>sp\u00b3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Explanation: 4 bonding domains (1 double bond + 3 single bonds) = 4 regions \u2192 <strong>sp\u00b3 hybridization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary Table:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Molecule\/Ion<\/th><th>Central Atom<\/th><th>Lewis Structure Geometry<\/th><th>Hybridization<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>XeCl\u2082<\/td><td>Xe<\/td><td>Linear (5 electron regions)<\/td><td>sp\u00b3d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>SOF\u2084<\/td><td>S<\/td><td>Trigonal bipyramidal<\/td><td>sp\u00b3d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>PO\u2084\u00b3\u207b<\/td><td>P<\/td><td>Tetrahedral<\/td><td>sp\u00b3<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Notes:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hybridization correlates with the number of <strong>electron domains<\/strong> (bonding + lone pairs). This concept helps in predicting molecular geometry and chemical reactivity. Accurate Lewis structures help determine how atoms are bonded and how electrons are distributed, which is critical in understanding hybridization and molecular shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Draw the Lewis structure of XeCl2 and then determine the hybridization of the central atom. Draw the Lewis structure of SOF4 (with minimized formal charges) and then determine the hybridization of the central atom. Determine the hybridization of the central atom. Draw the Lewis structure of phosphate (PO43-) with minimized formal charges and then determine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}