Concept:The shape of a molecule depends on the number of bonding pairs and lone pairs around the central atom.
Explanation:In methane,
CH4, the central carbon atom forms four single covalent bonds with four hydrogen atoms.
Carbon has no lone pair of electrons left after these bonds are formed.
According to VSEPR theory, four bonding pairs of electrons around the central atom repel one another equally.
To minimize repulsion, the four hydrogen atoms arrange themselves at the four corners of a regular tetrahedron.
This gives methane a tetrahedral shape with a bond angle of
109.5∘.
It is neither linear nor planar because the four sigma bonds force a three-dimensional arrangement.
It is not pyramidal because no lone pairs are present to distort the geometry.
Answer:D. tetrahedral