Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each model or feature to what it accounts for.
- Bonding molecular orbital
- Antibonding molecular orbital
- hybridisation
- Unhybridised p orbital
- Supplies the second component of a double bond
- Four equivalent bonds at 109.5 degrees
- A node between the nuclei that weakens binding
- Electron density concentrated between the nuclei
Hints
- Separate what builds the bond from what cancels it.
- The orbital left over from hybridisation is what makes multiple bonds possible.
Show the answer
- Bonding molecular orbital → Electron density concentrated between the nuclei
- Antibonding molecular orbital → A node between the nuclei that weakens binding
- hybridisation → Four equivalent bonds at 109.5 degrees
- Unhybridised p orbital → Supplies the second component of a double bond
Why
Bonding MOs pile electron density between the nuclei; antibonding MOs put a node there; explains tetrahedral geometry; and the leftover unhybridised orbital supplies pi overlap.
Practise Hybridisation and Molecular Orbitals
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