Asked by julie

Which molecular geometry is least likely to occur with sp3 hybridization?
tetrahedral
trigonal planar
bent
trigonal pyramidal

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Trigonal planar.

Reason: sp3 hybridization produces four equivalent orbitals (steric number 4) with a tetrahedral electron-pair geometry. Tetrahedral (CH4), trigonal pyramidal (NH3), and bent (H2O) all come from that tetrahedral arrangement with 0, 1, or 2 lone pairs. Trigonal planar requires sp2 (steric number 3), so it is least likely for sp3.