shapes question a level chem

How would you find out the shape of a more complex molecule eg ethanol? I saw in the mark scheme it says its shape is bent but Im not sure how you would find this out?

Reply 1

Ldi802070

Original post by Frizzle16523

How would you find out the shape of a more complex molecule eg ethanol? I saw in the mark scheme it says its shape is bent but Im not sure how you would find this out?

Hi, I can only suggest an answer cos I’m a y13 chem student (not a teacher or anything) but the oxygen in the -OH group has 2 lone pairs as well as 2 electrons in bonding pairs, causing the C-O-H bonding to be slightly bent… I think x

Reply 2

TypicalNerd

Original post by Frizzle16523

How would you find out the shape of a more complex molecule eg ethanol? I saw in the mark scheme it says its shape is bent but Im not sure how you would find this out?

At A level, the only things you have to be able to assign individual atoms within a molecule a shape. The oxygen in ethanol would be bent since it has 2 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs, for example.

I suppose you can sort of describe molecules as a whole based on their shapes to a degree since all molecules can be assigned a “point group” (though point groups are a description of what symmetry operations a molecule has rather than strictly a description of their shapes) but this is very much a post-A level consideration as it is only ever required if you study chemistry at undergraduate level.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

Frizzle16523

Thank you all

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