Question

Estimate the percent ionic character of the ClF bond.

(Note that the electronegativity of Cl is 3.0 and that of F is 4.0.)

Express the percent ionic character in percent to two significant figures.

Answer 1

25%

Step-by-step explanation:

A way to estimate the ionic character of a bond between two atoms is using the formula:

• (χ₁-χ₂) / χ₁ * 100%

Where χ₁ is the electronegativity of the more electronegative atom of the bond, while χ₂ is the other atom's electronegativity.

In the case of this problem χ₁ is the electronegativity of F and χ₂ is Chlorine's.

So the estimate is:

• (4.0-3.0) /4.0 * 100% = 25%