The steric number of a molecule is the number of atoms bonded to the central atom of a molecule plus the number of lone pairs on the central atom. It is often used in VSEPR theory (valence shell electron-pair repulsion theory) in order to determine the particular shape, or molecular geometry, that will be formed.
Read more about Steric Number: Steric Number in VSEPR, See Also
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“How often should a woman be pregnant? Continually, or hardly ever? Or must there be a certain number of pregnancy anniversaries established by fashion? What do you, at the age of forty-three, have to say on the subject? Is it a fact that the laws of nature, or of the country, or of propriety, have ordained this time of life for sterility?”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)