Question

In general, hydrogen bonds are ____ and _____ typical covalent bonds.

A: longer than; about one tenth as strong as
B: shorter than; about one tenth as strong as
C: longer than; about ten times as strong as
D: shorter than; about ten times as strong as

Answer 1

Hydrogen bonds are longer and roughly one tenth as strong as covalent bonds, displaying significant differences in both the strength and spatial characteristics between these types of bonds.

Step-by-step explanation:

In terms of strength and length, hydrogen bonds are generally longer than typical covalent bonds and are about one tenth as strong as covalent bonds. Considering the example of an O-H bond, a covalent bond strength is about 492 kJ mol⁻¹. If we compare this to a typical hydrogen bond strength, which is about 23 kJ mol⁻¹, we can see that the hydrogen bond is indeed significantly weaker, corroborating that it's only about 5 to 10% the strength of a covalent bond, as described in multiple sources.

Additionally, the length of a hydrogen bond is longer because it is not a bond within a molecule but rather an attractive force between molecules.