Question

Question #12162

Answer 1

There are 17 lone pairs in one molecule of `"P"_4"O"_7`.

Explanation:

The structure of tetraphosphorus heptoxide, `"P"_4"O"_7`, is

img1.guidechem.com

Each `"O"` atom has 2 lone pairs, and each single-bonded `"P"` atom has 1 lone pair.

Thus

`"Number of lone pairs"`

`= 7 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("O atoms"))) × "2 lone pairs"/(1 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("O atom")))) + 3 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("P atoms"))) × "1 lone pair"/(1 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("P atom")))) = "17 lone pairs"`