Identify the correct orders against the property mentioned
A. H2O > NH3 > CHCl3 – dipole moment
B. XeF4 > XeO3 > XeF2 – number of lone pairs on central atom
C. O–H > C–H > N–O – bond length
D. N2 > O2 > H2 – bond enthalpy
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer :
A, D only
Solution :
To identify the correct orders against the given properties, let us analyze each statement one by one:
Statement A: Dipole moment order: H2O > NH3 > CHCl3
- Water (H2O) has two lone pairs and two polar O-H bonds. The bond dipoles and lone pair dipoles reinforce each other, resulting in a very high dipole moment (approximately 1.85 D).
- Ammonia (NH3) has one lone pair and three polar N-H bonds. The bond dipoles and lone pair dipole also reinforce each other, giving a high dipole moment (approximately 1.47 D), but less than H2O due to fewer lone pairs and lower electronegativity of nitrogen compared to oxygen.
- Chloroform (CHCl3) is a tetrahedral molecule with three polar C-Cl bonds and one C-H bond. While it is polar, the net dipole moment (approximately 1.04 D) is significantly lower than that of H2O and NH3.
Therefore, the order H2O > NH3 > CHCl3 is correct.
Statement B: Number of lone pairs on central atom order: XeF4 > XeO3 > XeF2
- In XeF4, Xenon has 8 valence electrons, shares 4 with fluorine atoms, leaving 4 non-bonding electrons, which corresponds to 2 lone pairs.
- In XeO3, Xenon forms 3 double bonds with oxygen atoms using 6 valence electrons, leaving 2 non-bonding electrons, which corresponds to 1 lone pair.
- In XeF2, Xenon shares 2 electrons with fluorine atoms, leaving 6 non-bonding electrons, which corresponds to 3 lone pairs.
The correct order for the number of lone pairs on the central atom is XeF2 (3) > XeF4 (2) > XeO3 (1). Thus, statement B is incorrect.
Statement C: Bond length order: O–H > C–H > N–O
- The bond length typically increases with the size of the bonding atoms. Nitrogen and Oxygen atoms are larger than Hydrogen atoms.
- Therefore, a bond between two non-hydrogen atoms like N–O (where both atoms are from the second period) is longer than bonds involving hydrogen (like O–H and C–H).
- Thus, the bond length order O–H > C–H > N–O is incorrect because N–O has the longest bond length among them.
Statement D: Bond enthalpy order: N2 > O2 > H2
- Nitrogen (N2) contains a triple bond (), which is extremely strong and requires a very high amount of energy to break (bond enthalpy is approximately 945 kJ/mol).
- Oxygen (O2) contains a double bond (), which is also strong but weaker than the triple bond in N2 (bond enthalpy is approximately 498 kJ/mol).
- Hydrogen (H2) contains a single bond (), which has a lower bond enthalpy compared to N2 and O2 (approximately 436 kJ/mol).
Therefore, the order of bond enthalpy is N2 > O2 > H2, making statement D correct.
Since only statements A and D are correct, the correct option is A, D only.
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