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How do you determine the correct molecular shapes of #GeF_4#, #SeF_4#, and #XeF_4#?

Answer 1

By application of VESPER....

We got #"GeF"_4#...there are #"4 bonding orbitals"# around #Ge#...this is tetrahedral...,i.e. an analogue of #"SiCl"_4# or #"CCl"_4#.

And we got #SeF_4#...there are 2 lone pair electrons, and #4xxSe-F#, FIVE electron pairs around selenium...the electronic geometry is trigonal bipyramidal...with the lone pair occupying an equatorial site. the fluorines would conformationally mobile …

And we #XeF_4# we gots SIX electron pairs around xenon....electronic structure is OCTAHEDRAL; molecular geometry is square planar.

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Answer 2

Avery Adams

The number of bonding pairs and lone pairs surrounding the central atom determines the molecular shape; for GeF4, SeF4, and XeF4, each central atom has four bonding pairs and no lone pairs, resulting in a tetrahedral molecular shape for all three molecules. This information can be used to determine the correct molecular shapes of GeF4, SeF4, and XeF4.

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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.