Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR)
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SN*
Lone
pairs
Molecular Geometry
Example
Bond
angle
2
0
Linear
H
C
N
180°
0
Linear
C
O
2
180°
0
Linear
H
C
CH
180°
0
Linear
Be
H
2
180°
0
Linear
N
3
–
180°
1
Linear
HC
N
1
Linear
N
2
3
0
Trigonal planar
C
O
3
-2
120°
0
Trigonal planar
N
O
3
–
120°
0
Trigonal planar
B
H
3
120°
0
Trigonal planar
H
2
C
O
116.1 HCH
121.9 HCO
0
Trigonal planar
H
2
C
O
3
109 OCO
126 O=CO
0
Trigonal planar
C
Cl
2
CCl
2
115.7 ClCCl
122.2 ClCC
0
Trigonal planar
S
O
3
120°
1
Angular or bent
O
3
116.8°
1
Angular or bent
N
O
2
–
115°
1
Angular or bent
CH
2
N
CH
3
117°
2
Linear
O
2
2
Linear
C
O
2
4
0
Tetrahedral
C
H
4
109.5°
0
Tetrahedral
N
H
4
+
109.5°
0
Tetrahedral
B
F
4
–
109.5°
0
Tetrahedral
C
H
3
CH
3
108 HCH
110.9 HCC
0
Tetrahedral
C
H
3
NH
2
108.4 HCH
110 HCN
0
Tetrahedral
C
H
3
OH
109.0 HCH
109.9 HCO
0
Tetrahedral
B
H
3
NH
3
113.5 HBH
105.0 HBN
0
Tetrahedral
BH
3
N
H
3
107.9 HNH
111.0 HNB
0
Tetrahedral
P
OCl
3
104.5 ClPCl
118.8 OPCl
0
Tetrahedral
N
S
F
3
94 FSF
123 NSF
0
Tetrahedral
P
O
4
-3
109.5°
0
Tetrahedral
S
O
4
-2
109.5°
0
Tetrahedral
Xe
O
4
109.5°
1
Trigonal pyramid
N
H
3
107.8°
1
Trigonal pyramid
P
Cl
3
100°
1
Trigonal pyramid
Xe
O
3
108.1°
1
Trigonal pyramid
CH
3
N
H
2
105.8 HNH
111 HNC
1
Trigonal pyramid
N
H
2
OH
107 HNH
103 HNO
1
Trigonal pyramid
N
H
2
NH
2
107 HNH
109 HNN
1
Trigonal pyramid
S
OCl
2
96 ClSCl
106 OSCl
2
Angular or bent
H
2
O
104.5°
2
Angular or bent
O
F
2
103°
2
Angular or bent
H
O
Cl
103°
2
Angular or bent
CH
3
O
H
108.9°
2
Angular or bent
NH
2
O
H
103°
3
Linear
H
Cl
3
Linear
Cl
2
5
0
Trigonal bipyramid
P
Cl
5
120, 180°
0
Trigonal bipyramid
As
F
5
120, 180°
0
Trigonal bipyramid
S
OF
4
98, 124 OSF
1
Seesaw
S
F
4
102, 173°
1
Seesaw
Xe
O
2
F
2
105.6 OXeO
174.8 FXeF
1
Seesaw
I
O
2
F
2
–
102 OXeO
179 FXeF
2
T shaped
Br
F
3
86, 172°
2
T shaped
Xe
F
3
+
89, 162°
2
T shaped
Xe
OF
2
92, 174°
3
Linear
I
3
–
180°
3
Linear
Xe
F
2
180°
6
0
Octahedral
S
F
6
90, 180°
0
Octahedral
P
F
6
–
90, 180°
0
Octahedral
Xe
O
6
-4
90, 180°
1
Square pyramid
Br
F
5
85, 170°
1
Square pyramid
Xe
OF
4
92, 176°
1
Square pyramid
Xe
F
5
+
80, 160°
2
Square planar
Xe
F
4
90, 180°
2
Square planar
I
Cl
4
–
90, 180°
7
0
Pentagonal bipyramid
I
F
7
72, 90°
1
Pentagonal pyramid
I
OF
5
-2
72, 92°
2
Pentagonal planar
Xe
F
5
–
72°
*Steric number (SN) is atoms plus lone pairs
Display options
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Lines
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Element Labels:
S
M
L
XL
XXL
Off
Lone Pairs
Multiple bonds
Spin
Antialias (slower)
Bond angles from
National Institute of Standards and Technology
.
This page created by George Lisensky, Beloit College.
Last modified January 23, 2026.
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