What is a VSEPR chart?

A VSEPR chart is a table that maps the number of bonded atoms and lone pairs around a central atom to a molecular shape, the ideal bond angle, the hybridization and the polarity. It lets you predict the geometry of a molecule from its Lewis structure.

What does AX4E2 mean and what shape is it?

AX4E2 means a central atom A with four bonded atoms X and two lone pairs E, so six electron domains. The lone pairs sit on opposite sides, which leaves the four atoms in one plane. The shape is square planar with 90 degree angles, as in XeF4.

What is the difference between electron geometry and molecular geometry?

Electron geometry counts every electron domain, lone pairs included. Molecular geometry names only the positions of the atoms. Water has tetrahedral electron geometry and bent molecular geometry, and ammonia has tetrahedral electron geometry and trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry.

How do I find the hybridization from the VSEPR shape?

Count the electron domains on the central atom, lone pairs included. Two domains give sp, three give sp2, four give sp3, five give sp3d and six give sp3d2. Water has four domains, so oxygen is sp3 even though the molecule is bent.

Why is the bond angle in water 104.5 degrees and not 109.5?

Water has two lone pairs on oxygen. Lone pairs repel more strongly than bonding pairs, so they push the two O-H bonds closer together. The measured H-O-H angle is 104.5 degrees. Ammonia has one lone pair and a smaller squeeze, at 106.7 degrees.

Can I print the VSEPR chart or download it as an image?

Yes. Choose the full table, the 13 shapes poster, the hybridization chart or the bond angle chart, then pick color or black and white and A4 or US Letter. Download a PNG or SVG, or use Print and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. It is free and needs no account.

Chemistry Reference

VSEPR Chart and Molecular Geometry Table

Free VSEPR chart with all 13 molecular geometries, bond angles, hybridization and polarity. Look up any AXmEn shape, then download or print it.

All 13 shapes by AXmEn with bond angles and hybridizationType AX4E2 or pick X and E to see the shapeMeasured angles from NIST CCCBDBPNG, SVG and print, A4 or Letter, no sign-up

Find a shape from AXmEn

Pick the number of bonded atoms (X) and lone pairs (E) on the central atom, or type a notation such as AX4E2.

Bonded atoms (X)

Lone pairs (E)

Or type AXmEn

AX₄E₂ (6 electron domains, 2 lone pairs)

Square planar

Electron geometry: octahedral
Ideal angle: 90°, 180°
Real molecules: 90°, 180°
Hybridization: sp³d²
Polarity: Nonpolar if all four X are the same: the dipoles cancel.
Examples: XeF₄, ICl₄⁻, BrF₄⁻

XeF₄ F-Xe-F: 90° (fixed by symmetry)

Measured angles: NIST CCCBDB experimental geometries.

VSEPR chart: all 13 shapes

Electron domains

13 shapes. Click a row to open it above.

AXmEn	Domains	Lone pairs	Electron geometry	Molecular shape	Ideal angle	Hybrid	Polarity	Examples
AX₂	2	0	linear	Linear	180°	sp	Nonpolar if both X are the same; polar if they differ.	CO₂, BeCl₂, HCN
AX₃	3	0	trigonal planar	Trigonal planar	120°	sp²	Nonpolar if all three X are the same; polar if they differ.	BF₃, SO₃, NO₃⁻
AX₂E	3	1	trigonal planar	Bent (V-shaped)	120°real: a little under 120°	sp²	Polar: the bond dipoles do not cancel.	SO₂, O₃, NO₂⁻
AX₄	4	0	tetrahedral	Tetrahedral	109.5°	sp³	Nonpolar if all four X are the same; polar if they differ.	CH₄, CCl₄, NH₄⁺
AX₃E	4	1	tetrahedral	Trigonal pyramidal	109.5°real: under 109.5°	sp³	Polar: the lone pair leaves a net dipole.	NH₃, PH₃, H₃O⁺
AX₂E₂	4	2	tetrahedral	Bent (V-shaped)	109.5°real: under 109.5°	sp³	Polar: the bond dipoles do not cancel.	H₂O, H₂S, OF₂
AX₅	5	0	trigonal bipyramidal	Trigonal bipyramidal	90°, 120°, 180°real: ax-eq 90°, eq-eq 120°, ax-ax 180°	sp³d	Nonpolar if all five X are the same; polar if they differ.	PCl₅, PF₅, AsF₅
AX₄E	5	1	trigonal bipyramidal	Seesaw	90°, 120°, 180°real: ax-ax under 180°, eq-eq under 120°, ax-eq under 90°	sp³d	Polar: the lone pair leaves a net dipole.	SF₄, IF₄⁺, XeO₂F₂
AX₃E₂	5	2	trigonal bipyramidal	T-shaped	90°, 180°real: ax-eq under 90°, ax-ax under 180°	sp³d	Polar: the lone pairs leave a net dipole.	ClF₃, BrF₃, ICl₃
AX₂E₃	5	3	trigonal bipyramidal	Linear	180°	sp³d	Nonpolar if both X are the same: the lone pairs cancel too.	XeF₂, I₃⁻, ICl₂⁻
AX₆	6	0	octahedral	Octahedral	90°, 180°	sp³d²	Nonpolar if all six X are the same; polar if they differ.	SF₆, PF₆⁻, SiF₆²⁻
AX₅E	6	1	octahedral	Square pyramidal	90°, 180°real: apical-basal under 90°	sp³d²	Polar: the lone pair leaves a net dipole.	BrF₅, IF₅, XeF₅⁺
AX₄E₂	6	2	octahedral	Square planar	90°, 180°	sp³d²	Nonpolar if all four X are the same: the dipoles cancel.	XeF₄, ICl₄⁻, BrF₄⁻

sp³d and sp³d² are a teaching model. Modern calculations show that d orbitals contribute little to bonding in these molecules, and the bonding is better described by three-center four-electron bonds. Scroll sideways on small screens.

Download or print the chart

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Free VSEPR Charts and Molecular Geometry Tables

Every chart below is drawn from the same checked data as the tool above. View, download and print them free, no sign-up.

Full table

VSEPR Chart: Molecular Geometry Table

All 13 shapes by AXmEn with ideal angles, hybridization, polarity and examples with measured angles.

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VSEPR charts

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Bond angles

How to read a VSEPR chart

VSEPR stands for valence shell electron pair repulsion. The idea is simple: electron domains around a central atom repel each other, so they spread as far apart as they can. A chart lists every common arrangement using the AXmEn code, where A is the central atom, X is a bonded atom and E is a lone pair. The first two columns, the number of electron domains and the number of lone pairs, are all you need to find a row. From that row you read the electron geometry, the molecular geometry, the ideal bond angle, the hybridization and whether the shape tends to be polar.

How to count electron domains from a Lewis structure

Draw the Lewis structure first, then look only at the central atom.
Count each bonded atom as one domain. A double or triple bond still counts as one domain, because all of its electrons sit in the same region.
Count each lone pair on the central atom as one domain, and add the two numbers. Four domains with one lone pair is AX3E, which is trigonal pyramidal.

Why lone pairs squeeze bond angles

A lone pair is held by one nucleus only, so its electron cloud is wider and repels more strongly than a bonding pair. That pushes the bonded atoms closer together. The ideal tetrahedral angle is 109.5 degrees, but the measured H-N-H angle in ammonia is 106.7 degrees and the H-O-H angle in water is 104.5 degrees. In trigonal bipyramidal shapes a lone pair sits in an equatorial position, where it has fewer close neighbors at 90 degrees. That is why SF4 is a seesaw, ClF3 is T-shaped and XeF2 is linear. In octahedral shapes two lone pairs sit opposite each other, which gives square planar XeF4.

Electron geometry versus molecular geometry

Electron geometry describes where all the electron domains point, lone pairs included. Molecular geometry names only the arrangement of the atoms. Water and methane share a tetrahedral electron geometry, but water is bent because two of the four positions hold lone pairs. Ammonia has the same electron geometry with one lone pair, so its molecular geometry is trigonal pyramidal. The chart groups rows by electron domains, so the electron geometry repeats within a group while the molecular geometry changes with each added lone pair.

Hybridization and polarity

The hybridization follows the number of domains: two is sp, three is sp2, four is sp3, five is sp3d and six is sp3d2. The sp3d and sp3d2 labels are a teaching model, because modern calculations show that d orbitals contribute little in these molecules, but the geometry that VSEPR predicts is not affected. For polarity, check whether the bond dipoles cancel. Symmetric shapes with identical X atoms, such as CO2, BF3, CH4, PCl5, SF6 and XeF4, are nonpolar. Shapes with lone pairs that break the symmetry, such as H2O, NH3 and SF4, are polar.

Where the angles come from

Ideal angles are the standard textbook values for each arrangement. Measured angles are experimental values from the NIST Computational Chemistry Comparison and Benchmark Database, shown to one decimal place, and shape names and ideal angles were cross-checked against the LibreTexts VSEPR chapter. Angles that follow from molecular symmetry rather than a separate measurement, such as the 180 degrees of XeF2, are marked as such. Checked October 2026. Real molecules can deviate from VSEPR predictions, especially for heavy central atoms, so use the chart as a first prediction and confirm with your course material.

Frequently Asked Questions

Need the Lewis structure first? Draw it with the Lewis dot structure generator, then count the electron domains on the central atom and look the shape up in the chart above.