Chemical Bonding - Hybridization
Finding Hybridisation of compound is a basic and very important concept in chemistry. Many students face
problems with finding the hybridization of given atom (usually the central one) in a compound and the shape of
molecule. Nevertheless, it is very easy to determine the state of hybridization and geometry if we know the number
of Bond Pairs and Lone Pairs of the given atom. In this post, I am going to explain you how to determine them in
5 easy steps.
Steps:
Step 1.
Calculate and Add the Valence Electrons of all the atoms in a molecule.
Step 2.
If molecule is anionic (contains –ve charge) then add the number of negative charges to the number of
valence electrons. If molecule is cationic (contains +ve charge) then subtract the number of positive charges
from number of valence electrons.
Step 3.
If total number of valence electrons (calculated in step 2) is more than 8, divide it by 8 and If total
number of valence electrons is less than 8, divide it by 2.
Step 4.
When dividing by 8, if there is remainder then divide it further by 2 and add the results obtained
in step 3 and step 4
[NOTE: when dividing valence electron by 8, we will firstly get Number of Bond Pair electrons, if remainder is
obtained and is further divided with 2, then we will get Number of Lone Pair electrons]
Step 5.
Match the answer from table below: