Molecules

Molecule Shapes (VSEPR)

Drag bonds and lone pairs onto a central atom, rotate it in 3D, and explore real molecules.

Show Bond Angles

Show Bond Angles Show Lone Pairs

Molecule Geometry Electron Geometry

Electron geometry–

Molecular shape–

Bond angle–

Example–

Things to try

Drag two single bonds in, then add two lone pairs. What shape do you get?
Turn on Show Bond Angles and Molecule Geometry, then add a lone pair to CH4-like models and watch the angles shrink.
Switch to Real Molecules and compare H2O, NH3 and CH4. All are tetrahedral electron geometry with different shapes.
Can you build a square planar molecule? Hint: four bonds and two lone pairs.

Electron groups repel each other and spread as far apart as possible.
Lone pairs take up more room than bonds and squeeze the bond angles.
Molecular shape is named by the atoms only, while electron geometry counts lone pairs too.

What does VSEPR stand for?

Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion. Electron groups around a central atom repel each other, which sets the shape of the molecule.

Why is water bent and not linear?

Oxygen has two bonds and two lone pairs. The four groups arrange tetrahedrally, so the two atoms form a bent shape of about 104.5°.