1. Draw the Lewis Structure
* Count valence electrons: Cl has 7, each O has 6, and there's one extra electron from the negative charge, giving a total of 26 valence electrons.
* Connect atoms: Place Cl in the center and bond it to each O atom.
* Complete octets: Place the remaining electrons as lone pairs on the oxygen atoms.
* Formal charges: To minimize formal charges, give the chlorine a double bond with one of the oxygen atoms.
The Lewis structure looks like this:
O
||
Cl - O
|
O
2. Determine the Steric Number
* Steric number: The number of electron groups around the central atom (including lone pairs and bonding pairs).
* In ClO3-, chlorine has three bonding pairs and one lone pair, giving a steric number of 4.
3. Relate Steric Number to Hybridization
* Steric number 4 corresponds to sp3 hybridization.
Therefore, the hybridization of the central chlorine atom in ClO3- is sp3.
