Examples

Be is the central atom, so we can draw the skeletal structure:

 

 

There is a total of 2 + 2×7 = 16 valence electrons, and we use four of them to make the bonds. The remaining 12 go on the Cl atoms as lone pairs:

 

The steric number is 2, and there are no lone pairs on the central atom. Therefore, both the electron and molecular geometries are linear.

Steric number 2 corresponds to sp-hybridization where the bond angles are 180o.

 

More practice examples on geometry and hybridization in this multiple-choice quiz:

Free

Geometry and Hybridization Quiz

 

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