Question

Select the answer that correctly lists the following bonds in order of increasing ionic character: Celcium to fluorine, chlorine to chlorine, bromine to chlorine, silicon to chlorine.

a) Silicon to chlorine < chlorine to chlorine < bromine to chlorine < calcium to fluorine
b) Chlorine to chlorine < bromine to chlorine < silicon to chlorine < calcium to fluorine
c) Calcium to fluorine < bromine to chlorine < chlorine to chlorine < silicon to chlorine
d) Calcium to fluorine < silicon to chlorine < bromine to chlorine < chlorine to chlorine

Answer 1

The bonds are listed in order of increasing ionic character based on the electronegativity differences between the bonded atoms, which are chlorine to chlorine, bromine to chlorine, silicon to chlorine, and calcium to fluorine, respectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

To list the given bonds in order of increasing ionic character, we should consider the electronegativity differences between the atoms involved in each bond. Ionic character increases with increasing electronegativity differences. Here are the bonds in order:

Chlorine to chlorine (Cl2): This is a nonpolar covalent bond because both atoms have the same electronegativity.

Bromine to chlorine (Br-Cl): This is a polar covalent bond with a small electronegativity difference.

Silicon to chlorine (Si-Cl): Silicon has a lower electronegativity than chlorine, making the bond polar covalent with more ionic character than Br-Cl.

Calcium to fluorine (Ca-F): Calcium has a much lower electronegativity compared to fluorine. This results in a bond with a high ionic character.

Therefore, the correct order from least to most ionic character is: chlorine to chlorine < bromine to chlorine < silicon to chlorine < calcium to fluorine.