Module 2 Intro

Module 2—Chemical Compounds

Lesson Summary

In this lesson you investigated the following essential questions:

• What is VSEPR theory, and how can it be used to predict molecular shapes?
  
  

• Can the structure of simple molecular substances be illustrated by drawing or building models?
  
  

• How are models and theories useful in helping to explain the structure and behaviour of matter?

In this lesson you studied the VSEPR theory and used it to construct, illustrate, and predict the shape of molecular substances. You have also used the shapes predicted using the VSEPR theory to explain the structure and behaviour of matter.

Lesson Glossary

central atom: the atom in a molecule that has the most bonding electrons and, therefore, is likely to form the most bonds