Examples

 

Carbon is the central atom, so we can draw a skeletal structure first:

 

 

There are 4 + 2 + 2×7 = 20 electrons, and 8 have been used to make four bonds. The remaining 12 go on the two chlorines as lone pairs:

 

 

The central atom has four atoms and no lone pair, therefore, both the electron and molecular geometries are tetrahedral:

 

Steric number 4 corresponds to sp3-hybridization where the idealized bond angles are 109.5o.

 

More practice examples on geometry and hybridization in this multiple-choice quiz:

Free

Geometry and Hybridization Quiz

 

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