The molecular geometry of the left-most carbon atom in the molecule below is ________.
A)trigonal planar
B)trigonal bipyramidal
C)tetrahedral
D)octahedral
E)T-shaped

Question

The molecular geometry of the left-most carbon atom in the molecule below is ________. 
A)trigonal planar 
B)trigonal bipyramidal 
C)tetrahedral 
D)octahedral 
E)T-shaped

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The left-most carbon atom in the molecule is bonded to three other atoms (two hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom). Therefore, the carbon atom has a steric number of 3 (number of atoms bonded to the central atom plus the number of lone pairs of electrons). A steric number of 3 corresponds to a tetrahedral geometry.

The Molecular Geometry of the Left-Most Carbon Atom in the Molecule