How does the Pauling scale of electronegativity influence the prediction of molecular geometry in compounds like water (H2O)?

The Pauling scale tells us how strongly each atom pulls shared electrons; a larger difference between the electronegativities of two bonded atoms makes the bond more polar, concentrating electron density near the more electronegative atom. In a molecule like H₂O, oxygen’s high electronegativity (3. 44) compared to hydrogen’s (2. 20) creates a strongly polarized O–H bond, leaving the lone pairs on oxygen to repel each other and the bonding pairs. This repulsion between lone pairs and bonding pairs pushes the hydrogen atoms apart, giving the bent (104.