Report Sheet: Molecular Shape ... oduction All elements strive to achieve the octet or the ole gas electron configuration which means that they have lectrons in the outermost shell. Covalent compounds in ticular share their electrons to achieve the goal of an et. Molecular geometries are important to understand so can predict what makes certain covalent compounds so ble over others. For example, why is Carbon dioxide so ble? How do the elements each bond so that they share electrons to complete each other's octet? What shapes these molecules take to keep electrons from repelling ch other? The shape of the molecule is based on the nber of shared pairs and lone pairs of electrons on the tral atom. Shared pairs are single or double bonds that drawn from the central atom to the other atoms, whereas one pair is a pair of dots. CAUTION! When drawing lecular shapes, if asked how many bonds are on a ucture, single or double and triple bonds are all unted as one bond. >thpicks ydough t 1: Models of the rule of eight 1