How would you predict the ideal bond angle(s) around each central atom in this molecule?

enter image source here

1 Answer
anor277
Jun 13, 2017

#/_H-C-H#, #/_H-C-O#, #/_C-O-C# should all be........

Explanation:

#/_H-C-H#, #/_H-C-O#, #/_C-O-C# should all be #109.5""^@# to a FIRST approximation. Because the central oxygen bears TWO lone pairs, which lie close to the oxygen atom, this tends to compress the #/_C-O-C# down to #104-6^@#, i.e. similar to the #/_H-O-H# angle in water.

Thus the electronic geometry around oxygen is tetrahedral to a first approximation, the actual geometry is somewhat compressed. I urge you to look at the description of #"VESPER"# in your text.

Related questions
See all questions in Molecular Geometry
Impact of this question
14416 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License