The number of lone pair(s) of electrons on the central atom and the maximum number of coplanar atoms in an SF ₄ molecule are, respectively :

Step-by-step solution

In SF ₄ , the central sulfur atom has 6 valence electrons and forms 4 single bonds with fluorine atoms. Steric number = 6 + 4 2 = 5 , which corresponds to sp ^3 d hybridization. With 4 bond pairs and 1 lone pair, the electron geometry is trigonal bipyramidal and the molecular shape is see-saw. The lone pair occupies an equatorial position to minimize repulsion. This lone pair repels the axial bond pairs, causing the axial F - S - F bond angle to bend (less than 180^ ). Because the axial atoms and the central atom a