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Determine the VSEPR geometry of PCl5 molecule and predict the bond angles.

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Phosphorus pentachloride  PCl5  is a molecule with phosphorus  P  as the central atom and five chlorine  Cl  atoms surrounding it. To determine the VSEPR geometry, we first need to identify the number of electron groups around the central atom.In PCl5, the central phosphorus atom has 5 valence electrons. Each chlorine atom contributes one electron, making a total of 5 additional electrons from the chlorine atoms. Therefore, there are 5 electron groups around the central phosphorus atom, and all of them are bonding pairs  no lone pairs .According to the VSEPR theory, the electron groups will arrange themselves to minimize repulsion. For 5 electron groups, the geometry is trigonal bipyramidal. In this arrangement, three chlorine atoms form an equatorial triangle around the phosphorus atom, and the other two chlorine atoms are positioned axially, above and below the central atom.The bond angles in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry are:1. Axial-equatorial  Cl-P-Cl : 90 degrees2. Equatorial-equatorial  Cl-P-Cl : 120 degreesSo, the VSEPR geometry of PCl5 is trigonal bipyramidal with bond angles of 90 degrees  axial-equatorial  and 120 degrees  equatorial-equatorial .
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