Coordination Geometry and Hybridization
The geometry of coordination complexes (octahedral, tetrahedral, square planar, etc.) is determined by the hybridization of the central metal's orbitals and the nature of the ligands.
Why this shows up in the exam
You will need to predict or deduce the geometry and hybridization of complexes in exams.
How NEET tests this
Practise it
These are real questions from past NEET papers that test this exact idea.
Match List I with List II : List-I (Complex/ion) A. [Pt(Cl₂)(NH₃)₂] B. [Co(NH₃)₆]Cl₃ C. [NiCl₄]²⁻ D. [Fe(CO)₅] List-II (Shape/geometry) I. Octahedral II. Trigonal bipyramidal III. Square planar IV. Tetrahedral Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Push further
More challenging12 harder questions built from the past papers above — a step up in difficulty, with distractors designed so you can't get there by elimination. Written and checked by our reviewers, not from a real paper.
Which of the following statements correctly describes the hybridization and geometry of the complex ion [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻?
More from Coordination Compounds
Isomerism in Coordination Compounds
Coordination compounds exhibit various types of isomerism, including structural (ionization, linkage, coordination, solvate) and stereoisomerism (geometrical, optical, fac-mer), depending on their geometry and ligand arrangement.
Crystal Field Theory and Spectrochemical Series
Crystal field theory explains the splitting of d-orbitals in different ligand fields, the spectrochemical series ranks ligands by field strength, and these concepts determine electronic configuration, color, and magnetism.
Magnetic Properties of Coordination Compounds
The magnetic behavior (paramagnetic or diamagnetic) of coordination compounds depends on the number of unpaired electrons, which is influenced by ligand field strength and geometry.
Structure and Bonding in Metal Carbonyls
Metal carbonyls are organometallic complexes with unique bonding involving σ-donation and π-back bonding, affecting their geometry, bond lengths, and properties.
Applications of Coordination Compounds
Coordination compounds have important applications in medicine, industry, and analytical chemistry, such as in cisplatin (anticancer), electroplating, photography, and vitamin B₁₂.
Types of Ligands and Denticity
Ligands are classified by the number of donor atoms (denticity) and their ability to bind in different ways, including monodentate, bidentate, polydentate, ambidentate, homoleptic, and heteroleptic ligands.