FROM THE WATER TOPIC (PRELIMINARY CHEMISTRY)

THE VALENCE SHELL ELECTRON PAIR REPULSION (VSEPR) MODEL

(2.1) Construct Lewis electron dot structures of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide to identify the
distribution of electrons
(2.2) Compare the molecular structure of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, the differences in their
molecular shapes and in their melting and boiling points

3.

Construct Lewis electron dot structures of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

water
4.

ammonia

hydrogen sulphide

Identify how many of the electron pairs in each of the molecules above are involved
in bonding the central atom to other atoms and how many electron pairs of the central
atom are not involved in bonding at all (lone pairs).
water:

bonding pairs: _______

non-bonding pairs: ________

ammonia:

bonding pairs: _______

non-bonding pairs: ________

hydrogen sulphide:

bonding pairs: _______

non-bonding pairs: ________

Up to now (and, presumably, in the diagrams you have drawn above) we have only been able
to use Lewis diagrams to represent the arrangement of electrons: we have not been able to
determine the shapes of molecules. But we will now be able to use the Valence Shell
Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Model to predict the shapes of molecules as well.
Electron pairs in the valence energy level of an atom repel each other and are arranged as
far apart as possible, in order to minimise the repulsion between them. This repulsion causes
the molecules to take the shapes identified in the following table.
Total
electron
pairs

Bonding
pairs

Nonbonding
pairs

Shape

Example

Diagram of
shape

linear

BeCl2

Cl Be Cl

trigonal
planar

BCl3

tetrahedral

CH4

trigonal
pyramidal

NH3

bent /
angular

H2O

Lewis diagram
showing shape

5.

6.

Infer the molecular shapes of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

water:

_____________________________________

ammonia:

_____________________________________

hydrogen sulphide:

_____________________________________

Complete the VSEPR table on the previous page by:

(a)
drawing simple diagrams to show the shapes of the example molecules
using single lines to represent single bonds (a single bond is a shared pair of
electrons). The first one is done for you.
(b)
drawing Lewis diagrams to show the electron arrangements and the shapes of
the example molecules.

PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/air/aq4kids/smog.asp

Photochemical smog can cause reduced visibility, eye and bronchial irritation, damage to plants
and animals and deterioration of materials.

What Is Smog?
The term smog was first coined during the 1950s when it was used to describe a mixture of smoke and fog
experienced in London. Major cities along the west coast of America were also experiencing a different type
of air pollution.
Smog occurs when emissions from industry, motor vehicles, incinerators, open burning and other sources
accumulate under certain climatic conditions. There are two types of smog: summer (the type of smog first
experienced in America) and winter (the one first noticed in London).

Photochemical Or Summer Smog

In the warmer months (October to March), photochemical smog (summer smog) is caused by the action of
sunlight on a mixture of hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. This smog contains secondary pollutants
such as ozone, aldehydes and fine particles.
Sometimes winds cause the pollutants to be carried clockwise around the Port Phillip region. As the smog
levels build, polluted air can be trapped and recirculate for days in what is known as the Melbourne Eddy.
This means that in the evening you can end up breathing exhaust fumes emitted by your car that morning.

A Typical Melbourne Eddy

The Spillane or Melbourne Eddy at work. Under a special set of meteorological conditions, air flowing from
the north east is funnelled by mountains to the north and east of Port Phillip Bay (1) creating a circular,
horizontal motion of about 100 kilometres in diameter (2). The eddy pushes air pollution out over the Bay,
taking it away from Melbourne.
You might recognise photochemical smog as the whitish haze that sometimes settles over our cities during
summer. The best way to determine the amount of summer smog is to measure ozone levels in the air.

Ozone Levels
Photochemical (summer smog) forms when pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and organic compounds
react together in the presence of sunlight. A gas called ozone is formed.

Nitrogen Dioxide + Sunlight + Hydrocarbons = Ozone

This is a very general representation of the formation of ozone in the lower atmosphere. In actual fact,
many different chemical reactions produce Ozone.