Read the following statements carefully: Statement I: The bond angle in NH ₄⁺ is larger than in NH ₃ because the nitrogen atom in NH ₄⁺ lacks a lone pair of electrons. Statement II: The H - O - H bond angle in water is smaller than the ideal tetrahedral angle primarily due to strong lone pair-lone pair repulsions. Statement III: BCl ₃ has a larger bond angle than PCl ₃ because the central atom in BCl ₃ is sp^2 hybrid

Step-by-step solution

Statement I is correct: NH ₄⁺ has no lone pairs on nitrogen ( sp^3 , 109.5^ ), whereas NH ₃ has one lone pair which compresses the bond angle to 107^ . Statement II is correct: According to VSEPR theory, lone pair-lone pair (lp-lp) repulsion is stronger than lone pair-bond pair (lp-bp) and bond pair-bond pair (bp-bp) repulsions, which compresses the H - O - H angle in water to 104.5^ . Statement III is correct: In BCl ₃ , boron is sp^2 hybridized with a bond angle of 120^ . In PCl ₃ , phosphorus is sp^3 hybridized