A model shows a molecule of water. The model shows two small blue balls attached to a larger green ball with one stick attaching each blue ball. A legend shows that the blue balls are H and the green ball is O. A chemical formula shows H2O.

Question

In one to two sentences, identify the type of model shown and describe the atomic structure of a molecule of water.

Answer 1

The model shown is a ball-and-stick model, which visually represents the molecular structure of water (H2O). In this structure, two hydrogen (H) atoms are covalently bonded to one oxygen (O) atom, with the angle between the hydrogen-oxygen-hydrogen bonds indicative of the molecule's bent shape.