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tetrahedral arrangement
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Figure 1: The four stable geometric structures of the seven-atom cluster of argon, in order of increasing energy: (A) A pentagonal bipyramid. (B) A regular octahedron with one face capped by the seventh atom. (C) A regular tetrahedron with three of its faces capped by other atoms. (D) A trigonal bipyramid with two of its faces capped by other atoms; although this has the highest energy of the four structures, it is very close in energy to the tricapped tetrahedron.
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tetrahedral arrangement

molecular shape
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Figure 1: The four stable geometric structures of the seven-atom cluster of argon, in order of increasing energy: (A) A pentagonal bipyramid. (B) A regular octahedron with one face capped by the seventh atom. (C) A regular tetrahedron with three of its faces capped by other atoms. (D) A trigonal bipyramid with two of its faces capped by other atoms; although this has the highest energy of the four structures, it is very close in energy to the tricapped tetrahedron.
Figure 1: The four stable geometric structures of the seven-atom cluster of argon, in order of increasing energy: (A) A pentagonal bipyramid. (B) A regular octahedron with one face capped by the seventh atom. (C) A regular tetrahedron with three of its faces capped by other atoms. (D) A trigonal bipyramid with two of its faces capped by other atoms; although this has the highest energy of the four structures, it is very close in energy to the tricapped tetrahedron.

The tetrahedral arrangement describes a molecular shape where four atoms are positioned at the corners of a tetrahedron, surrounding a central atom. This geometry arises from the repulsion between electron pairs in the valence shell, as explained by the Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory.1

In a tetrahedral arrangement, the bond angles between the atoms are approximately 109.5 degrees. A classic example of a molecule with a tetrahedral shape is methane (CH₄), where a central carbon atom is bonded to four hydrogen atoms. This arrangement maximizes the distance between the electron pairs, leading to a stable molecular structure. Other molecules, like white phosphorus (P₄), also exhibit a tetrahedral structure, though without a central atom.21

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5 Britannica Sources
  1. Are There Triangular Molecules?
  2. chemical bonding - Applying VSEPR theory to simple molecules
  3. chemical bonding - Limitations of the VSEPR model
  4. tetrahedral coordination
  5. chemical bonding - Molecules with no central atom

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