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ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

I am deeply grateful to my Chemistry teacher Mrs. Hina

ma’am for her steadfast guidance and constructive feedback,
which shaped the foundation of this project. Her mentorship
and encouragement throughout each stage of this journey
have been invaluable.

I am equally thankful to my school and especially Ma’am

principal for providing the necessary resources and
administrative support to carry out this study.

Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt

thanks to everyone who supported me in ways
big or small throughout this journey. This project
work is a testament to the collective effort of so
many wonderful people, and I deeply appreciate
their contributions.

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INDRODUCTION

WHAT IS VSEPR THEORY?

VSEPR stands for Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion. It's a model
in chemistry that predicts the 3D structure of molecules.

The VSEPR theory is used to predict the shape of the

molecules from the electron pairs that surround the central
atoms of the molecule. The theory was first presented by
Sidgwick and Powell in 1940. The VSEPR theory is based on
the assumption that the molecule will take shape such that
electronic repulsion in the valence shell of that atom is
minimised.

VSEPR theory, is based on the premise that there is a

repulsion between the pairs of valence electrons in all atoms,
and the atoms will always tend to arrange themselves in a
manner in which this electron pair repulsion is minimalised.
This arrangement of the atom determines the geometry of
the resulting molecule. This theory is also known as the
Gillespie-Nyholm theory to honour these chemists.

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BASICS TERMS MUST TO KNOW

BEFORE VSEPR THEORY:
[Link] Exclusion Principle
 The Pauli exclusion principle states that in a single atom, no
two electrons will have an identical set or the same quantum
numbers (n, l, ml, and ms). To put it in simple terms, every
electron should have or be in its own unique state (singlet
state).

[Link] Structures
 Resonance structures are sets of Lewis structures that
describe the delocalization of electrons in a polyatomic ion
or a molecule.

[Link]
 Redistribution of the energy of orbitals of individual atoms
to give orbitals of equivalent energy happens when two
atomic orbitals combine to form a hybrid orbital in a
molecule. This process is called hybridization.

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POSTULATES OF VSEPR
THEORY

The postulates of the VSEPR theory are listed

below.

 In polyatomic molecules (i.e., molecules made up of three or more atoms),

one of the constituent atoms is identified as the central atom to which all
other atoms belonging to the molecule are linked.
 The total number of valence shell electron pairs decides the shape of the
molecule.
 The electron pairs have a tendency to orient themselves in a way that
minimises the electron-electron repulsion between them and maximises
the distance between them.
 The valence shell can be thought of as a sphere wherein the electron pairs
are localised on the surface in such a way that the distance between them
is maximised.
 Should the central atom of the molecule be surrounded by bond pairs of
electrons, then the asymmetrically shaped molecule can be expected.
 Should the central atom be surrounded by both lone pairs and bond pairs of
electrons, the molecule would tend to have a distorted shape.
 The VSEPR theory can be applied to each resonance structure of a
molecule.
 The strength of the repulsion is strongest in two lone pairs and weakest in
two bond pairs.
 If electron pairs around the central atom are closer to each other, they will
repel each other. This results in an increase in the energy of the molecules.
 If the electron pairs lie far from each other, the repulsions between them
will be less, and eventually, the energy of the molecule will be low.

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LIMITATIONS OF VSEPR THEORY

The lititations of the VSEPR theory are listed

below.
 This theory fails to explain isoelectronic species (i.e., elements
having the same number of electrons). The species may vary in
shape, despite having the same number of electrons.

 The VSEPR theory does not shed any light on the compounds of
transition metals. The structure of several such compounds
cannot be correctly described by this theory. This is because
the VSEPR theory does not take into account the associated
sizes of the substituent groups and the lone pairs that are
inactive.

 Another limitation of the VSEPR theory is that it predicts that

halides of group 2 elements will have a linear structure,
whereas their actual structure is a bent one.

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Predicting the Shapes of

Molecules

The following steps must be followed in order to

decide the shape of a molecule:

 The least electronegative atom must be selected as the central

atom (since this atom has the highest ability to share its
electrons with the other atoms belonging to the molecule)

 The total number of electrons belonging to the outermost shell

of the central atom must be counted.

 The total number of electrons belonging to other atoms and

used in bonds with the central atom must be counted.

 These two values must be added in order to obtain the valence

shell electron pair number or the VSEP number.

 The strength of the repulsion between a lone pair and a bond

pair of electrons lies in between the repulsion between two
lone pairs and between two bond pairs. The order of repulsion
between electron pairs is as follows:

Lone Pair- lone pair > Lone Pair- bond- pair > Bond
Pair- bond pair

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 Procedure to calculate:

 Total number of electron pairs around the central atom = ½ (Number of

valence electrons of central atom + Number of atoms linked to central
atom by single bonds).

 The number of bond pairs = The total number of atoms linked to the
central atom by single bonds.

 Number of lone pairs = The total number of electrons – No. of shared

pair.

 The electron pairs around the central atom repel each another
and move so far apart from each another that there are no
greater repulsions between them. This results in the molecule
having minimum energy and maximum stability.

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SHAPES OF MOLECULES

1. Linear Shape of Molecule

 Straight structure: Linear molecules have a straight structure with a bond
angle of 180°.
 Electron pairs: The central atom in a linear molecule has two electron
pairs arranged at 180°.
 Lone electron pairs: The central atom in a linear molecule typically has
either 0 or 3 lone electron pairs. EG.co2

[Link] planar shape of molecule

 Bond angles: The bond angles between the central atom and the three
outer atoms are 120°.
 Hybridization: The central atom has sp2 hybridization.
 Pairs: A trigonal planar molecule has three bond pairs and zero lone
pairs.
 Examples. Boron trifluoride (BF3), Formaldehyde(CH3O)

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[Link] shape of molecule

 Lone pairs: There are no lone electron pairs.
 Bond angle: The bond angle between the central atom and the substituents is 109.5”.
 Hybridization: The hybridization is sp3.
 Examples of tetrahedral molecules Methane (CH_4), Ammonium (NO_4), Phosphate
(PO_4), Sulphate (SO_4), and Permanganate (MnO_4).

4. Trigonal Bipyramidal shape of molecule

 Five electron groups: The central atom in a trigonal bipyramidal molecule has five
electron groups, or bonding pairs of electrons.
 Two different bond angles: The molecule has two different bond angles because of
its shape.
 Bond angle: The bonds in the plane are 120° apart, while the bonds perpendicular
to the plane are 90° apart.
 Eg. phosphorus pentafluoride ( PF 5), and phosphorus pentachloride ( PCl 5)

5. Octahedral shape of molecule

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 Bond angles: The bond angles in an octahedral structure are 90° and
180°.
 Shape: The octahedral structure is made up of eight faces, which are
triangles. It has a central atom surrounded by six atoms, groups of atoms,
or ligands.
 Examples of octahedral compounds include sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6) and molybdenum hexacarbonyl Mo
(CO)6.

6. Pentagonal Bipyramidal shape of molecule

 Bond angles: Pentagonal bipyramids have bond angles of 90° and 72°.
 Connectivity: Pentagonal bipyramids are four-connected, meaning that
removing four vertices disconnects the remaining vertices.
 Pentagonal bipyramids are promising coordination geometries for
lanthanide-based single-molecule magnets (SMMs).
 Examples: Examples Iodine heptafluoride (IF_7), Rhenium heptafluoride (ReF_7), and Pentagonal
bipyramidal lanthanide (III) complexes.

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SUMMARISED TABLE FOR SHAPES

OF MOLECULE

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CONCLUSION

The basis of VSEPR theory is the repulsion

between electron pairs, which causes them to
assume positions where there is least repulsion
between them. The VSEPR shapes are drawn
based on the number of bond pairs and lone pairs
in the valence shell. 2 bond pairs result in a linear
geometry, 3 bond pairs in a trigonal planar, and 4
bond pairs in a tetrahedral one. A VSEPR table can
provide help with the shapes and bond angles. An
application of the VSEPR theory is to classify
molecules according to the ABE types. “A” refers
to the central atom, “B” represents the bond pairs
and the number of bond pairs is given in a
subscript next to it, and “E” refers to the lone
pairs and its number is given likewise. Therefore,
this theory is very useful in the branch of
chemistry to help for further researches.

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Bibliography

 Allied Material of Basic Inorganic Chemistry by F.

Albert Cotton, Geoffrey Wilkinson, and Paul L.
Gaus.
 Google’s Gemini ai assistant.
 [Link]’[Link]
 Gillespie RJ. 1992. Electron densities and the VSEPR
model of molecular geometry. Can. J. Chem..
70(3):742-750. [Link]
 NCERT book for chemistry class11th .

END OF THE CONTENT

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