Bond Angle, Can Someone Tell Me if I'm Correct?

amcavoy

I am to find the angle OSeO in the molecule SeO₂. After drawing the Lewis Structure and such, I am saying 180^o. Is this correct?

wr1015

well sp3 hybridized = 109.5 degrees, sp2 hybridized (double bonds) = 120 degrees, and sp hybridized (triple bonds)= 180 degrees.

amcavoy

I have one double bond and one single bond. That is my problem. If they aren't the same, how can I determine this?

wr1015

in the molecule selenium dioxide, there should be 2 double bonds which form a linear molecule (180 degrees). you can go to chemfinder.com search selenium dioxide and it will show you an image of the molecule.

amcavoy

I went there and they said the same thing you did. However, when you write it with two double bonds there is no way for it to obey the octet rule when you write the Lewis Structure. I can get it with a double and a single, but not two doubles. Why is this?

Edit: Alright, let's forget the octet rule (I guess that's not important). When I write it with two double bonds I'm going to say a 120^o angle, right?

Thanks.

wr1015

well by following the rules of bond hybridization i would say yes 120^o

amcavoy

Thanks I appreciate it

leright

count the number of double bonds, single bonds and lone pairs. In this case, there are a total of 3 of all of these combined. This, the electronic structure will be in a trigonal planar form, so they are 120 degrees apart. Your molecule will have 2 bonds, making it a bent molecule with 120 degree bond angles.