Some quick and simple help please - Tetrahedral Compounds

[LatexZone]

Homework Statement

Could you please describe to me in simple terms how carbon forms tetrahedral compounds as I will need to do some work on it. Thanks. Please make it only a line or 2 (summarize)

Thanks.

Homework Equations

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The Attempt at a Solution

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[LatexZone]

Worked it out myself...

 

[Tom Creswell]

Carbon has 4 valence (bonding) electrons, and four atomic orbitals- s, px, py, pz. The S is spherical, the p's are dumbbells, oriented in each of three orthoganal directions. These can be re-shuffled (linear combinations of atomic orbitals) to four sp3 orbitals. These are spatially oriented to stick out in four directions to the four corners of a tetrahedron. The carbon forms covalent bonds with four other atoms.