Textbook Question
Indicate whether each statement is true or false. (b) The probability is always 0% for finding an electron in an antibonding orbital.
12. Molecular Shapes & Valence Bond Theory
Molecular Orbital Theory
Multiple Choice
Predict the bond order of the oxygen-oxygen bond in O₂.
A
0
B
2
C
1
D
3
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the concept of bond order: Bond order is the number of chemical bonds between a pair of atoms. In molecular orbital theory, it is calculated as the difference between the number of bonding electrons and antibonding electrons, divided by two.
Write the electron configuration for O₂ using molecular orbital theory. Oxygen has 8 electrons, so O₂ has 16 electrons. Fill the molecular orbitals in the order: σ(1s), σ*(1s), σ(2s), σ*(2s), π(2p), π(2p), σ(2p), π*(2p), π*(2p).
Count the number of electrons in bonding and antibonding orbitals. For O₂, there are 10 electrons in bonding orbitals and 6 electrons in antibonding orbitals.
Apply the bond order formula: Bond order = (Number of bonding electrons - Number of antibonding electrons) / 2.
Calculate the bond order using the numbers from the previous step to determine the bond order of the oxygen-oxygen bond in O₂.
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