1. The central atom, carbon, contributes four valence electrons, and each oxygen atom contributes six. The Lewis electron structure is

2. The carbon atom forms two double bonds. Each double bond is a group, so there are two electron groups around the central atom. Like BeH₂, the arrangement that minimizes repulsions places the groups 180° apart.

3. Once again, both groups around the central atom are bonding pairs (BP), so CO₂ is designated as AX₂.

4. VSEPR only recognizes groups around the central atom. Thus the lone pairs on the oxygen atoms do not influence the molecular geometry. With two bonding pairs on the central atom and no lone pairs, the molecular geometry of CO₂ is linear