Tetrahedral molecules

What is here?

You can see ball-and-stick models of methane, ammonia and water:

all three molecules have four pairs of outer electrons around their central atom, so
they all have a tetrahedral arrangement of electron pairs around the central atom.

Use your mouse (or finger on touch devices) to move or scale molecules. Double tap to stop and start each animation.

Options
atom labels
ball and stick model
space-filling model
perspective view

methane, CH₄

ammonia, NH₃

water, H₂O

Shapes and bond angles

There are four pairs of outer electrons around the central atom in each of these molecules. These pairs of electrons repel each other. In terms of the relative strength of repulsion:

strongest	lone pair – lone pair
⇣	lone pair – bond pair
weakest	bond pair – bond pair

The H—C—H bond angle in methane is the tetrahedral angle, 109.5°. This angle is obtained when all four pairs of outer electrons repel each other equally. The bond angles in ammonia and in water are less than 109.5° because of the stronger repulsion by their lone pairs of electrons.

Molecule	Bonding pairs	Lone pairs	Bond angle	Shape
CH₄	4	0	109.5°	tetrahedral
NH₃	3	1	107.0°	trigonal pyramidal
H₂O	2	2	104.5°	bent line

Different sources may quote different bond angles for ammonia and water. The ones shown here are acceptable for AS and A Level examinations.

Tetrahedral molecules

What is here?

methane, CH4

ammonia, NH3

water, H2O

Shapes and bond angles

Commercial copying, hiring, lending is prohibited.Permission granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.

methane, CH₄

ammonia, NH₃

water, H₂O

Commercial copying, hiring, lending is prohibited.
Permission granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.