Lesson 3 · about 15 minutes

Molecules in 3D

Why methane is a 3D tetrahedron, not a flat cross.

You will learn

  • Ball-and-stick and space-filling models
  • Why bonds spread out as far apart as they can
  • The tetrahedron, flat triangle and straight line shapes
  • How lone pairs bend water and ammonia

Sections

  1. Flat drawings, real shapes
  2. Why bonds spread out
  3. Flat triangles and straight lines
  4. Water and ammonia
Start lesson