Final answer:
An energy-level diagram visually represents the energies of a molecule's orbitals. For CO, it involves plotting the molecular orbitals derived from carbon and oxygen's atomic orbitals, indicating electron configurations and bonding.
Step-by-step explanation:
An energy-level diagram is used to compare the energies of molecular orbitals such as bonding, antibonding, and nonbonding orbitals, with the energies of the atomic orbitals from which they were formed. When looking at molecules such as carbon monoxide (CO), an energy-level diagram provides a visual representation of these energy states.
The energy-level diagram for CO would show its molecular orbitals derived from the atomic orbitals of carbon and oxygen. Energy on the diagram is plotted vertically, with the lowest energy state or ground state at the bottom and higher, excited energy states above. These diagrams help in understanding the electronic structure of molecules and predicting their chemical behavior.
In the case of CO, forming a correct energy-level diagram would involve illustrating the molecular orbitals formed by the combining of carbon's 2s and 2p orbitals with oxygen's 2s and 2p orbitals. This leads to a picture of the electron configuration, which helps explain the bonding and properties of CO.