Answer the following questions. — Chemical Bonding Chemistry Question
Problem Context
Answer the following questions.
For the molecule XeOF4.
i. Write a Lewis structure.
ii. Predict its geometry and specify the bond angles.
Model Answer
square pyramidal with 90º bond angles.
iii. State whether it is polar or nonpolar. Explain your answer.
Model Answer
The molecule is polar with charges…
Nitric acid, HNO3, is a strong acid while phosphoric acid, H3PO4, is a weak acid.
i. Draw Lewis structures for each acid.
ii. Explain why H3PO4 is stable while H3NO4 is not.
Model Answer
H3NO4 would have more than 8 e– around N (OR) would put a positive (+) formal charge on N (OR) would be too sterically hindered with 4 oxygen atoms around the nitrogen.
iii. Suggest and explain two reasons that nitric acid is stronger than phosphoric acid.
Model Answer
(1) N is more electronegative that P, so electron density is shifted from H atoms towards the N, so the H+ can be more readily removed. (2) NO3– is stabilized by resonance more than H2PO4–. (3) HNO3 has two free oxygen atoms that attract electron density from the H atom, whereas H3PO4 has only one free oxygen atom.
Ethane and diborane have similar formulas, C2H6 and B2H6, but B2H6 is more reactive. Sketch the structure of C2H6 and explain why B2H6 does not adopt this structure.
Model Answer
B2H6 cannot adopt this structure because it has only 12 valence electrons where C2H6 has 14.