Question

A) NO3 −

B) BCl3

C) NO

D) CH2Cl2

E) NI3

Which one is a radical?

Which one has bond angles slightly less than 109.5°?

Which one(s) are NOT planar? (Choose all that apply)

Which one has an atom with 6 electrons instead of an octet?

Answer 1

Option A i.e. NO3^- is a radical since it has an unpaired electron. The outer electronic configuration of nitrogen atom is 2s² 2p_x¹p_y¹p_z¹ while that of oxygen is 2s² 2p_x²p_y¹p_z¹ , this means that one of the oxygen atoms carries an extra electron. Also, NO is a free radical as N has an unshared electron

NI3 molecule has bond angle slightly less than 109.5   as the sp³ hybrid orbitals of central atom are occupied by 3 bond pairs and one lone pair of electrons and the repulsions between the lone pair and bond pair makes the bond angle slightly less thn 109.5

NI3 and CH2Cl2 are non planar molecules

BCl3 is an exception to the octet rule with Boron having only 6 electrons in the valence shell