AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

Valence Bond Theory

bond polarity - measure of electron sharing

  • overall dipole = sum of bond dipoles
    • dipoles have magnitude/direction
    • consider shape to find overall polarity
  • nonpolar molecule - overall dipole moment of 0
    • bond dipoles cancel each other out
  • polar molecule - nonzero overall dipole moment
    • when molecule not the same all around

valence-bond theory - explains covalent bonding

  • orbitals overlap to form covalent bonds
  • optimum distance between bonded nuclei
  • bond length - distance where attractive forces (between electrons/nuclei) are balanced by repulsive forces (between electrons/electrons, nuclei/nuclei)

hybrid orbitals - new orbitals formed by a mix of other orbitals

  • hybridization - process of mixing/changing atomic orbitals
  • energy released by bond formation > energy needed to promote electrons to higher levels
  • sp hybrid orbital - 1 electron from s subshell promoted to p subshell
    • able to form 2 bonds
    • forms linear arrangement
  • sp2 hybrid orbital - 1 electron from s subshell promoted to p subshell
    • 1 electron in s subshell, 2 electrons in p subshell
    • forms trigonal planar arrangement
  • sp3 hybrid orbital - 1 electron from s subhsell promoted to fill p subshell
    • forms tetrahedral arrangement
  • hybridization w/ d orbitals - possible w/ atoms in 3 rd period and beyond
    • sp3d hybrid orbital - trigonal bipyramidal arrangement
    • sp3d2hybrid orbital - octahedron arrangement
Subject: 
Subject X2: 

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!