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mia09narda mia09narda
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11 years ago
According to VSEPR theory, the shape of the PH3 molecule is best described as

linear.
trigonal planar.
tetrahedral.
bent.
trigonal pyramidal.
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#1
11 years ago
Tetrahedral - the 3 H atoms are at 3 corners of the figure and the lone pair is at the 4th corner
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!JRon@n!JRon@n
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11 years ago
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#3
11 years ago
No, PH3 is not tetrahedral.  The shape of the PH3 molecule is trigonal pyramidal.

The electron pair geometry is tetrahedral because there are three bonding pairs and one lone pair.  But the molecular geometry is only determined by the bondng pairs of electrons.

Here's more about VSPER theory:
There are five basic electron pair geometries, and their corresponding bond angles. The choice of electron pair geometry depends on the number of electron pairs (whether bonding pairs or lone pairs). The actual molecular geometry is a function of the electron pair geometry.

# electron .. electron pair ................... bond
pairs ........... geometry .........................angl es
2 ....................linear ............................. ..180
3 ....................trigonal planar ...............120
4 ....................tetrahedr al ......................109.5
5 ....................trigonal bipyramidal ..... 120 and 90
6 ....................octahedra l .......................90

Electron pair geometries and corresponding molecular geometries
linear Rightwards Arrow linear
trigonal planar Rightwards Arrow trigonal planar, bent
tetrahedral Rightwards Arrow tetrahedral, trigonaly pyramidal, bent
trigonal bipyramidal Rightwards Arrow trig. bipyramidal, see-saw, T-shaped, linear
octahedral Rightwards Arrow octahedral, square pyramidal, square planar
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