Bond Angles

Part of the Structure and Bonding section of Coddy's Chemistry journey. Lesson 20 of 49.

A lone pair is held by only one nucleus, so it takes more room than a bond and pushes the bonds closer together.

Four groups: 109.5° with no lone pairs (CH₄), 107° with one (NH₃), 104.5° with two (H₂O).

Methane with no lone pairs, ammonia with one and water with two, their bond angles 109.5, 107 and 104.5 degrees

Each lone pair squeezes the bonds a little closer together

Challenge

Water, H₂O, has two bonds and two lone pairs on oxygen. What shape is the molecule, and what is its bond angle?

Try it yourself

Shape viewerDescribe the molecule H₂O

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Structure and Bonding

2Covalent Bonds

5Forces Between Molecules

8Practice Problems

3Shapes of Molecules

6Metals and Giant Structures