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I am an 11th grade student who has just started learning about bonds in compounds. My question pertains to a line written in JD Lee's Concise Inorganic Chemistry for JEE (Main and Advanced) It was suggested that in all such case, a pair of electrons gets unpaired and one of the electrons is excited to the next available vacant orbital of slightly higher energy. The driving force for this process is the energy released in bond formation by unpaired electrons. If we have an atom with its initial energy as 'x'J. and further add 'k'J of energy to it so as to excite the electron, then (according to this line), the energy released after bond formation is 'k'J, leading to a final energy of 'x'J. We have been taught that the purpose of a bond is to lower the total energy. But here, the final and initial energies are same. Then what is the purpose of a bond? Perhaps I'm simply interpreting the line wrong, or is the bonding mechanism more complex than a simple energy less? final and initial energies are the same Now you have a perfect equilibrium between A + B <--> A-B But this depends greatly on what A and B are. Electrons do not have to be excited for bonding to occur. It usually happens to complete the electron shells, forming amore stable molecule. More stable means lower energy. Therefore, in that case the bonding reaction is favored. Covalent bonds are so much more favored that for all practical purposes, the reaction of A + B is 100% A-B. Weaker ionic bonds, such as salts, exhibit varying degrees of dissociation. Here the lower energy state depends greatly on the solvent effects

User Jwhat
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Final answer:

The purpose of a bond is to lower the overall energy of a compound and increase its stability. Bonds allow atoms to achieve a more stable configuration by completing their electron shells. The energy released during bond formation is usually in the form of heat.

Step-by-step explanation:

The purpose of a bond is to lower the overall energy of a compound. When atoms bond together to form a compound, the bonded atoms have a lower energy than they possess as individual atoms.

The energy released during bond formation is usually in the form of heat. This process occurs because a bond allows atoms to achieve a more stable configuration by completing their electron shells.

The driving force for bond formation is the energy released by unpaired electrons when they come together to form a bond.

In some cases, when a bond is formed, a pair of electrons may become unpaired and one of the electrons can get excited to a higher energy level. However, this process is not necessary for bonding to occur and not always applicable in all cases.

Overall, the purpose of a bond is to stabilize atoms and molecules by lowering their energy and increasing their overall stability.

User Justrhysism
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