The number of lone pairs of electrons present on Xe in `XeF_(4)` is

Options

A. a. 3
B. b. 4
C. c. 2
D. d. 1

Answer

To determine the number of lone pairs of electrons present on xenon in the compound XeF₄ (xenon tetrafluoride), we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Central Atom**:
- In XeF₄, xenon (Xe) is the central atom.

2. **Determine the Valence Electrons of Xenon**:
- Xenon is a noble gas and has 8 valence electrons.

3. **Determine the Valence Electrons of Fluorine**:
- Each fluorine (F) atom has 7 valence electrons and needs 1 more electron to complete its octet. Since there are 4 fluorine atoms, the total number of electrons contributed by fluorine is 4 (1 from each F).

4. **Calculate Total Electrons Around Xenon**:
- Xenon will form 4 bonds with the 4 fluorine atoms. Each bond consists of 2 electrons. Therefore, the total number of bonding electrons is 4 bonds × 2 electrons/bond = 8 electrons.

5. **Determine Remaining Electrons**:
- Since xenon has 8 valence electrons and uses all 8 to form bonds with the fluorine atoms, there are no remaining electrons to form lone pairs.

6. **Count Lone Pairs**:
- Since all of xenon’s valence electrons are used in bonding, the number of lone pairs of electrons on xenon in XeF₄ is 0.

### Final Answer:
The number of lone pairs of electrons present on xenon in XeF₄ is **0**.