What is the chemical formula for carbon tetrabromide?
The correct answer and explanation is:
The chemical formula for carbon tetrabromide is CBr₄.
Carbon tetrabromide is a compound composed of one carbon atom and four bromine atoms. The name “carbon tetrabromide” indicates the presence of one carbon atom (“carbon”) and four bromine atoms (“tetrabromide,” where “tetra-” means four and “bromide” refers to bromine).
In this molecule, carbon is the central atom bonded to four bromine atoms. Carbon has four valence electrons and can form four covalent bonds, which allows it to bond with four bromine atoms. Bromine is a halogen with seven valence electrons, needing one more electron to complete its octet. Each bromine atom shares one electron with carbon, forming a covalent bond. This results in a stable molecule where carbon is surrounded by four bromine atoms, each connected by a single covalent bond.
The molecular shape of carbon tetrabromide is tetrahedral, meaning the four bromine atoms are arranged around the central carbon atom in a three-dimensional shape resembling a pyramid with a triangular base. This shape minimizes the repulsion between the electron pairs around the carbon atom, according to VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) theory.
Carbon tetrabromide is a non-polar molecule because of the symmetrical distribution of bromine atoms around the carbon atom, even though bromine atoms are more electronegative than carbon. The dipoles cancel out due to the symmetrical tetrahedral geometry, resulting in a molecule without a net dipole moment.
In summary, carbon tetrabromide’s formula is CBr₄, representing one carbon atom covalently bonded to four bromine atoms in a tetrahedral structure. This compound is commonly used in organic chemistry as a reagent and is an example of a tetrahalomethane, where halogen atoms replace hydrogen atoms in methane (CH₄).