Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-course-of-the-year-3-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-2a/section-b/21/c/ii/solution
Past exam of the chemistry course of the year 3 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Paper 2A Section B 21 c ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
; the central atom makes no contribution. Let be the radius of the square of outer atoms and the central atom's height above its plane. Then . Adjacent bond vectors have perpendicular in-plane components, soThe centre of mass lies on the fourfold axis, even when . Thus the central atom and the shift of origin along the axis contribute no perpendicular lever arm. The four outer atoms each contribute , givingThe result concerns the smallest adjacent bond angle; the angle between opposite outer atoms is a different angle in a pyramid.
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