The structure of the noble gas compound `XeF_(4)` is :

Options

A. square planar
B. distorted tetrahedral
C. tetrahedral
D. octahedral

Answer

To determine the structure of the noble gas compound \( \text{XeF}_4 \), we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the Valence Electrons
First, we need to find the total number of valence electrons in the molecule.

- Xenon (Xe) has 8 valence electrons.
- Each Fluorine (F) atom has 7 valence electrons. Since there are 4 Fluorine atoms, the total contribution from Fluorine is \( 4 \times 7 = 28 \) electrons.

**Total valence electrons = 8 (from Xe) + 28 (from 4 F) = 36 electrons.**

### Step 2: Determine Bond Pairs and Lone Pairs
Next, we can use the total number of valence electrons to find the number of bond pairs and lone pairs.

1. **Calculate bond pairs:**
- Divide the total number of valence electrons by 8 to estimate the number of bond pairs:
\[ \text{Bond pairs} = \frac{36}{8} = 4.5 \text{ (take the integer part, which is 4)} \]

2. **Calculate lone pairs:**
- The remainder from this division gives us the additional electrons that are not involved in bonding:
\[ \text{Remainder} = 36 - (4 \times 8) = 4 \]
- Divide the remainder by 2 to find the lone pairs:
\[ \text{Lone pairs} = \frac{4}{2} = 2 \]

### Step 3: Determine the Hybridization
Now we can determine the hybridization of the central atom (Xenon).

- With 4 bond pairs and 2 lone pairs, the hybridization can be determined as follows:
- The total number of regions of electron density (bond pairs + lone pairs) is \( 4 + 2 = 6 \).
- This corresponds to \( \text{sp}^3\text{d}^2 \) hybridization.

### Step 4: Determine the Geometry
Using VSEPR theory, we can predict the geometry based on the arrangement of bond pairs and lone pairs.

- The arrangement of 4 bond pairs and 2 lone pairs corresponds to a square planar geometry. The lone pairs occupy positions above and below the plane of the bonded atoms, minimizing repulsion.

### Conclusion
The structure of the noble gas compound \( \text{XeF}_4 \) is square planar.