Question

vsepr in action
what happened when you clicked on one of the bonded atoms, moved it closer to one of the other bonded atoms, then released it? once the molecule stopped moving completely, what did you notice? select all the answers to the right that apply.
the bonded atoms tended to stay as far apart from each other as possible.
the bond angles between all the bonded atoms went to zero.
the angles between bonded atoms were maximized.
the bond angle between the bonded atoms went from zero to 180 degrees throughout the exercise.

Explanation:

According to the VSEPR (Valence - Shell Electron - Pair Repulsion) theory, electron pairs (bonded atoms and lone pairs) around a central atom repel each other. Bonded atoms (which are part of the electron - pair system in VSEPR) will position themselves to minimize repulsion. Minimizing repulsion means maximizing the distance between them (which also maximizes the angles between them).

• For the first option: Bonded atoms repel each other (due to electron - pair repulsion in VSEPR), so they tend to stay as far apart as possible.
• For the second option: If bond angles went to zero, the bonded atoms would be on top of each other, which is highly unfavorable due to electron - electron repulsion (both in the bonds and in the atomic cores), so this is incorrect.
• For the third option: Maximizing angles between bonded atoms is in line with VSEPR's principle of minimizing electron - pair repulsion.
• For the fourth option: There is no basis in VSEPR for bond angles going from zero to 180 degrees in a general sense when you manipulate a bonded atom in a simple VSEPR - related molecular model. Bond angles adjust to the most stable (lowest - energy) configuration based on the number of electron pairs, not such a random range as described.

Answer:

The bonded atoms tended to stay as far apart from each other as possible. ; The angles between bonded atoms were maximized.