Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry Practice Exam

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In trigonal bipyramidal geometry, how many electron pairs are arranged?

  1. 3 electron pairs

  2. 4 electron pairs

  3. 5 electron pairs

  4. 6 electron pairs

The correct answer is: 5 electron pairs

In trigonal bipyramidal geometry, there are five regions of electron density surrounding a central atom, which corresponds to five electron pairs. This arrangement can accommodate both bonding pairs of electrons, which form bonds with surrounding atoms, and lone pairs of electrons. The geometry arises when the central atom is surrounded by five other atoms and is characterized by specific angles: 120 degrees in the equatorial plane and 90 degrees between the axial and equatorial positions. In summary, the correct number of electron pairs arranged in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry is indeed five, as this configuration is designed to minimize electron-electron repulsion while maximizing bonding interactions.

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