Question

why are shared bonding orbitals pushed together by unshared pairs of electrons?

unshared pairs of electrons occupy a slightly smaller orbital than shared electrons.
unshared pairs of electrons have slightly less negative charge than shared electrons.
electrons are bigger when they are in unshared pairs than when they are in a shared pair.
unshared pairs of electrons occupy a slightly larger orbital than shared electrons.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Unshared electron pairs (lone pairs) actually occupy a larger orbital, not smaller, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: All electrons have the same negative charge, so this is wrong.
• Option 3: Electrons don't "get bigger" based on being shared or unshared; this is a misinterpretation.
• Option 4: Lone pairs (unshared electrons) occupy a slightly larger orbital than shared bonding electrons. This larger orbital space exerts repulsion, pushing the shared bonding orbitals together. This matches the concept of VSEPR theory where lone pairs have greater repulsion due to their larger electron - cloud (orbital) size.

Answer:

D. Unshared pairs of electrons occupy a slightly larger orbital than shared electrons.