Question

How can I predict the bond angles for GeCl2?

Answer 1

You can predict the bond angles of germaniun dichloride, `"GeCl"_2`, by using VSEPR Theory to figure out what its molecular geometry is.

Start by drawing the compound's Lewis structure. Because it's located in group 14 of the periodic table, germanium has 4 valence electrons.

Each of the two chlorine atoms has 7 valence electrons, which means that the germanium dichloride molecule has a total of 18 valence electrons.

To determine the compound's molecular geometry, you need to calculate germanium's steric number, which represents the electron-dense regions that surround the germanium atom.

In this case, `"Ge"` has a lone pair of electrons and is bonded to the two chlorine atoms, which means it has a steric number equal to 3.

This corresponds to an `"AX"_2"E"` molecule type, which implies a bent molecular geometry and bond angles smaller than `120^@`.