The Lewis structure of carbon dioxide is given below. The hybridization of the carbon atom in carbon dioxide is __________. A)sp³ B)sp² C)sp D)sp²d E)sp²d²

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In carbon dioxide, the central carbon atom is bonded to two oxygen atoms via double bonds. Since each double bond consists of one sigma bond and one pi bond, the carbon atom in CO2 is involved in two sigma bonds and two pi bonds. This requires the carbon atom to have hybrid orbitals that can accommodate the four electron pairs around it. The carbon atom in carbon dioxide is therefore sp hybridized, meaning that it has two sp hybrid orbitals and two unhybridized p orbitals.

The Lewis Structure of Carbon Dioxide Is Given Below