QQuestionChemistry
QuestionChemistry
Draw a Lewis structure for NO, indicating whether NO could be expected to be a stable molecule from the Lewis structure. Draw a molecular orbital diagram for NO. Does MO theory predict NO to be stable (include bond order in your answer)? Comment on the differences between predictions from the Lewis structure and that from MO theory.
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Answer
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Step 1: Draw the Lewis structure for NO.
Nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons and Oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons. Since there is one N atom and one O atom in the NO molecule, there will be a total of 11 valence electrons. The Lewis structure for NO is: \mathrm{O:}---\mathrm{N:}
Step 2: Evaluate the stability of the NO molecule based on the Lewis structure.
The Lewis structure shows that Nitrogen has a formal charge of + 1 and Oxygen has a formal charge of - 1. This indicates that the Lewis structure does not satisfy the octet rule for both atoms. In general, a molecule is considered stable if it follows the octet rule and has minimal formal charges.
Final Answer
The Lewis structure for NO indicates that it could not be expected to be a stable molecule due to the presence of formal charges. However, the MO diagram shows that NO has a bond order of 1, suggesting that it is a stable molecule. This discrepancy highlights the limitations of the Lewis structure and the advantages of the MO theory in predicting the stability of molecules.
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