Chemistry · CHEMICAL BONDING AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

In terms of orbital overlap and bond directionality, which statement explains why simple atomic orbital overlap fails to describe the geometry of \( \text{CH}_4 \)?

1. Carbon has only two valence electrons available for bonding in its ground state
2. Carbon forms ionic bonds rather than covalent directional bonds with hydrogen
3. The \( 2s \) orbital of carbon cannot overlap with the spherical \( 1s \) orbital of hydrogen
4. The mutual \( 90^\circ \) angles between the three \( 2p \) orbitals would predict \( 90^\circ \) bond angles rather than the observed \( 109.5^\circ \)