Which statement would be true about a water molecule if it had a linear shape?

• A. The bond angle between the hydrogen atoms would be 180 degrees.
• B. The molecule would be nonpolar due to its symmetrical shape.
• C. The oxygen atom would have no lone pairs.
• D. The molecular formula of water would change.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall the actual shape of a water molecule: it is bent (or V-shaped) due to the two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen atom, which repel the hydrogen atoms and reduce the bond angle from 180° to about 104.5°.
2. Understand that the bond angle in a molecule is determined by the arrangement of electron pairs around the central atom, according to the VSEPR (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion) theory.
3. If the water molecule were linear, this would imply that the oxygen atom has no lone pairs pushing the hydrogen atoms closer together, so the bond angle would be 180°.
4. Consider the polarity: a linear shape with two identical bonds opposite each other would make the molecule symmetrical, causing the dipole moments to cancel out, resulting in a nonpolar molecule.
5. Note that the molecular formula (H₂O) depends on the number and type of atoms, not the shape, so the formula would remain unchanged even if the shape were linear.