Place the following in order of decreasing X-A-X bond angle,where A represents the central atom and X represents the outer atoms in each molecule. N₂O NCl₃ NO₂^⁻ A)NCl₃ NO₂⁻ N₂O B)NO₂⁻ N₂O NCl₃ C)N₂O NO₂^⁻ NCl₃ D)NCl₃ N₂O NO₂⁻ E)N₂O NCl₃ NO₂⁻

Question

Place the following in order of decreasing X-A-X bond angle,where A represents the central atom and X represents the outer atoms in each molecule. N₂O NCl₃ NO₂^⁻ A)NCl₃ > NO₂⁻ > N₂O B)NO₂⁻ > N₂O > NCl₃ C)N₂O > NO₂^⁻ > NCl₃ D)NCl₃ > N₂O > NO₂⁻ E)N₂O > NCl₃ > NO₂⁻

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The X-A-X bond angle generally decreases as the size of X increases and as the number of lone pairs on X increases. In NO₂^⁻, the central atom S has two lone pairs, making the bond angle smaller than in the other two molecules. Between NCl₃ and N₂O, the former has a larger X (Cl is larger than O) and therefore a larger bond angle. Thus, the order of decreasing bond angle is N₂O > NO₂^⁻ > NCl₃.

Place the Following in Order of Decreasing X-A-X Bond Angle,where