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What is the shape of a molecule? - George Zaidan and Charles Morton

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A molecule is nearly all empty space, apart from the extremely dense nuclei of its atoms and the clouds of electrons that bond them together. When that molecule forms, it arranges itself to maximize attraction of opposite charges and minimize repulsion of unlike. George Zaidan and Charles Morton shape our image of molecules.

Water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) both have three atoms each, but water is bent, whereas carbon dioxide is linear. Draw Lewis structures of each molecule and use these to explain the difference in molecular geometries.

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