what causes a molecule to have a bent shape instead of linear?\na. repulsion between protons forcing the…

what causes a molecule to have a bent shape instead of linear?\na. repulsion between protons forcing the bonding atoms out of line\nb. attractions between the bonding atoms pulling the bonds toward each other\nc. lone electron pairs pushing the bonding electrons out of line\nd. intermolecular forces pushing the atoms out of line and toward each other

what causes a molecule to have a bent shape instead of linear?\na. repulsion between protons forcing the bonding atoms out of line\nb. attractions between the bonding atoms pulling the bonds toward each other\nc. lone electron pairs pushing the bonding electrons out of line\nd. intermolecular forces pushing the atoms out of line and toward each other

Answer

Brief Explanations:

Lone - electron pairs around the central atom in a molecule have greater repulsion than bonding pairs. This extra repulsion from lone - electron pairs pushes the bonding electrons, causing the molecule to adopt a bent shape instead of a linear one. Protons are in the nucleus and not directly involved in molecular shape determination. Attractions between bonding atoms would tend to make a linear shape more likely. Intermolecular forces act between different molecules, not within a single molecule to determine its shape.

Answer:

C. Lone electron pairs pushing the bonding electrons out of line