MOLECULAR GEOMETRY

Molecular geometry is the three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms that constitute a molecule. It determines several properties of a substance including its reactivity, polarity, phase of matter, color, magnetism, and biological activity. The angles between bonds that an atom forms depend only weakly on the rest of molecule, i.e. they can be understood as approximately local and hence transferable properties.

The bond angles in the table below are ideal angles from the simple VSEPR theory, followed by the actual angle for the example given in the following column where this differs. For many cases, such as trigonal pyramidal and bent, the actual angle for the example differs from the ideal angle, but all examples differ by different amounts. For example, the angle in H₂S (92°) differs from the tetrahedral angle by much more than the angle for H₂O (104.5°) does.