What is the normal valence angle around carbon in tetrahedral molecules?

What is the normal valence angle around carbon in tetrahedral molecules?

• A. 90 degrees
• B. 120 degrees
• C. 109.5 degrees
• D. 180 degrees

Answer: (C)

Four sp3 hybrid orbitals around carbon arrange to minimize repulsion, forming a tetrahedral geometry. In this arrangement, the bonds point toward the corners of a regular tetrahedron, so the angle between any two bonds is about 109.5 degrees. This is the typical valence angle you’d expect in tetrahedral molecules like methane. Angles of 90 degrees correspond to other geometries (perpendicular arrangements found in some square-planar contexts), 120 degrees to trigonal planar arrangements, and 180 degrees to linear arrangements. While real molecules can show slight deviations, 109.5 degrees is the standard value for carbon with four single bonds and no lone pairs.

Four sp3 hybrid orbitals around carbon arrange to minimize repulsion, forming a tetrahedral geometry. In this arrangement, the bonds point toward the corners of a regular tetrahedron, so the angle between any two bonds is about 109.5 degrees. This is the typical valence angle you’d expect in tetrahedral molecules like methane. Angles of 90 degrees correspond to other geometries (perpendicular arrangements found in some square-planar contexts), 120 degrees to trigonal planar arrangements, and 180 degrees to linear arrangements. While real molecules can show slight deviations, 109.5 degrees is the standard value for carbon with four single bonds and no lone pairs.