What is the structure of #XeF_2#?

Answer 1

It should be linear should it not?

We gots #XeF_2#, and thus we gots #8+2xx7*"electrons"=22*"electrons"#, i.e. #11*"electron pairs"#, bonding and non-bonding.....

#F-Xe-F#

We gots 11 electron pairs....and SIX of these are the fluorine lone pairs....the remaining FIVE pairs are distributed around xenon; 2 form the #Xe-F# bonds, and around the #F-Xe-F# vector there are THREE non-bonding electron pairs in a plane NORMAL to that vector. Agreed?

And thus the electronic geometry is trigonal bipyramidial, i.e. #AX_2E_3#. The molecular geometry should be linear, #/_F-Xe-F-=180^@#.

Do you sus what I mean when distinguish molecular from electronic geometry?

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.