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Chapter
CHEMICAL BONDING AND
01 MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

INTRODUCTION

The attractive force which holds various constituents (atoms, ions, etc.) together in different chemical
species is called a chemical bond.

Now, a number of questions may arise in your mind. (a) Why do atoms readily combine to form
molecules? (b) Why are only certain combinations possible? (c) Why do elements combine in fixed
ratios only? (d) What is the nature of forces which keep the atoms together in a molecule? (c) Why
do molecules possess definite shapes? In this unit, we shall try to answer the above questions on
the basis of various theories like Kossel-Lewis approach, valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion
theory, Valence Bond theory and Molecular Orbital theory.

Kossel-Lewi Kossel-Lewis Approach s Approach

Lewis postulated that atoms achieve the stable octet when they are linked by chemical bonds. That
is when atoms get eight electrons in the outermost shell they become stable.

Lewis Symbols
In the formation of a molecule, only the outer shell electrons of atoms take part in chemical combination
and they are known as valence electrons. G.N. Lewis, an American chemist introduced simple
notations to represent valence electrons in an atom. These notations are called Lewis symbols.

Li Be B C N O F Ne

Modes of Chemical Combination

As described above, atoms combine together in order to complete their respective octets so as to
acquire the stable inert gas configuration. This can occur,
1. by transfer of electrons from one atom of an element to the atom of another element. (This gives
rise to an ionic or electrovalent bond)
2. by mutual sharing of the electrons (This gives rise to a covalent bond)
3. by one sided sharing of the electrons (This gives rise to a coordinate or dative bond)

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Here we discuss only the first two type of combinations, the later will be studied in higher classes.

Before going deep into different types of bonding we need to discuss some aspects of octect rule.

The octet rule, through useful, is not universal

The incomplete octet of the central atom

In some compounds, the number of electrons surrounding the central atom is less than eight. This is
especially the case with element having less than four valence electrons. Examples are LiCl, BeH2
and BCl3.

Odd-electron molecules

In molecules with an odd number of electrons, like nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the
octet rule is not satisfied for all the atoms

The expanded octet

Elements in and beyond the third period of the periodic table have, apart from s and p orbitals, d
orbitals are also available for bonding. In a number of compounds of these elements, there are
more than eight valence electrons around the central atom. This is termed as the expanded octet.
Obviously the octet rule does not apply in such cases.

Other drawbacks of the octet theory

It is clear that octet rule is based upon the chemical inertness of noble gases. However, some noble
gases (for example xenon and krypton) also combine with oxygen and fluorine to form a number of
compounds like XeF2, KrF2, XeOF2 etc. This theory does not account for the shape of molecules.
It does not explain the relative stability of the molecules, being totally silent about the energy of a
molecule.

IONIC OR ELECTROVALENT BOND

lonic bond is formed when one atom transfers one or more electrons from its outer shell to another
atom to complete the octet. The atom which loses electrons becomes positively charged (cation). The
atom which gains electrons becomes negatively charged (anion). Therefore an electrostatic force of
attraction between the two ions will take place. Thus, ionic bond is defined as the electrostatic force
of attraction holding the oppositely charged ions.

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It follows that the formation of ionic compounds would primarily depend upon:

 The ease of formation of the positive and negative ions from the respective neutral atoms;

 The arrangement of the positive and negative ions in the solid, that is, the lattice of the crystalline
compound.

The formation of a positive ion involves ionization, i.e., removal of electron(s) from the neutral
atom and that of the negative ion involves the addition of electron(s) to the neutral atom. The two
processes can be represented as

M ( g ) → M (+g ) + e − ; Ionization enthalpy

X ( g ) + e − → X (−g ) ; Electron gain enthalpy

M (+g ) + X (−g ) → MX (s )

You have already studied about ionization enthalpy and electron gain enthalpy. Therefore, we can
say that the formation of an ionic compound is favoured when the ionisation enthalpy of one of the
atoms is low and electron gain enthalpy of the other atom is large negative. Most ionic compounds
have cations derived from metallic elements and anions from non-metallic elements. The ammonium
+
ion, NH 4 (made up of two non-metallic elements) is an exception. It forms the cation of a number
of ionic compounds.

Another factor that influence the formation of ionic bonds is Lattice Energy

The Lattice Enthalpy of an ionic solid is defined as the energy required to completely separate one
mole of a solid ionic compound into gaseous constituent ions. Higher the lattice enthalpy of the
ionic compound greater will be the stability of the compound and hence greater will be the ease of
formation.

COVALENT BONDS

BOND PARAMETERS

Bond parameters are different properties of chemical bonds, especially covalent bonds

Bond Length

Bond length is defined as the equilibrium distance between the nuclei of two bonded atoms in a
molecule. Different types of bond lengths are considered as per the element under investigation.

The covalent radius is measured approximately as the radius of an atom’s core which is in contact
with the core of an adjacent atom in a bonded situation. The covalent radius is half of the distance
between two similar atoms joined by a covalent bond in the same molecule.

The van der Waals radius represents the overall size of the atom which includes its valence shell in
a nonbonded situation. Further, the van der Waals radius is half of the distance between two similar
atoms in separate molecules in a solid

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Bond Angle

It is defined as the angle between the orbitals containing bonding electron pairs around the central
atom in a molecule/complex ion. In simple language we can say that it is the angle between two
covalent bonds.

Bond Enthalpy

It is defined as the amount of energy required to break one mole of bonds of a particular type be-
tween two atoms in a gaseous state.

Bond Order

A general correlation useful for understanding the stabilities of molecules is that: with increase in
bond order, bond enthalpy increases and bond length decreases.

Resonance Structures

It is often observed that a single Lewis structure is inadequate for the representation of a molecule
to match with the experimentally observed parameters. whenever a single Lewis structure cannot
describe a molecule accurately, a number of structures with similar energy, positions of nuclei,
bonding and non-bonding pairs of electrons are taken as the canonical structures of the hybrid
which describes the molecule accurately. For example experimentally determined oxygen-oxygen
bond lengths in the O3 molecule are same (128 pm). Thus the oxygen-oxygen bonds in the O3 mol-
ecule are intermediate between a double(121 pm) and a single bond (148 pm).

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Thus for O3, the two structures shown above constitute the canonical structures or resonance
structures and their hybrid i.e., the structure III represents the structure of O3 more accurately. This
is also called resonance hybrid.

In general, it may be stated that

Resonance stabilizes the molecule as the energy of the resonance hybrid is less than the energy of
any single canonical structure; and, Resonance averages the bond characteristics as a whole.

Polarity of Bonds
If a covalent bond is formed between different kinds of atoms, then the shared pair of electrons is
displaced towards the more electronegative atom causing greater concentration of electron density
around the more electronegative atom. Thus, the more electronegative atom acquires a partial
negative charge and the less electronegative atom acquires a partial positive charge. Thus, a partial
ionic character arises in the covalent bond and is called polar covalent bond.

As a result of polarisation, the molecule possesses the dipole moment (depicted below) which can
be defined as the product of the magnitude of the charge and the distance between the centres of
positive and negative charge. It is usually designated by a Greek letter ' µ ' . Mathematically, it is
expressed as follows:
Dipole moment ( µ ) = charge (Q) × distance of separation (r)

Dipole moment is usually expressed in Debye units (D).

The conversion factor is 1D = 3.33564 × 10–30 C m where C is coulomb and m is meter.
Further dipole moment is a vector quantity and by convention it is depicted by a small arrow with
tail on the negative centre and head pointing towards the positive centre. In chemistry, the dipole
moment is represented by a slight variation of the arrow symbol. It is denoted by a cross on the
positive center and arrow head on the negative center. This arrow symbolizes the shift of electron
density in the molecule.
In case of polyatomic molecules the dipole moment not only depend upon the individual dipole
moments of bonds known as bond dipoles but also on the spatial arrangement of various bonds
in the molecule. In such case, the dipole moment of a molecule is the vector sum of the dipole
moments of various bonds.

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The dipole moment in case of BeF2 is zero. This is because the two equal bond dipoles point in
opposite directions and cancel the effect of each other

The dipole moment of NH3 is greater than that of NF3

Just as all the covalent bonds have some partial ionic character, the ionic bonds also have partial
covalent character. The partial covalent character of ionic bonds was discussed by Fajans rule
which will be studied in higher classes.
Till now we haven’t discussed anything about how molecules are shaped and how covalent bonds
are formed, there are mainly three theories for explaining shape and bonding in molecules. VSEPR
theory, VBT, MOT
The Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) Theory
Covalent molecules (except those which form macromolecules such as diamond and silica) exhibit
variety of shapes owing to the directional nature of the covalent bond. This property arises because
pairs of electrons (occupied in orbitals) repel each other so that they are oriented in space as far
away as possible. The definite relative arrangement of the bonded atoms in a molecule is known as
geometry or shape of the molecule. Sidgwick and Powell (1904) proposed a simple theory based
on the repulsive interactions of the electron pairs on the valence shell of the atoms. They suggested
that the shape of molecules can be determined by the number of electron pairs in the valence
shell of the central atom and proposed a theory known as Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion
(VSEPR) theory. The important postulates of VSEPR theory are:
1. The shapes of molecules depend upon the number of electron pairs (bonded as well as non-
bonded) in the valence shell of the central atom.

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2. The electron pairs surrounding the central atom repel each other. As a result, the electron pairs
try to stay as far apart as possible to acquire a state of minimum repulsion and hence maximum
stability.
3. The repulsive interactions between two lone pairs (lp) are different from those between two bond
pairs (bp) or between one lone pair and one bond pair. The repulsive interactions between various
electron pairs are in the order: lp - lp > lp - bp > bp - bp .
4. After repulsion, the electron pairs achieve definite positions around the central atom giving a
permanent geometry to the molecule.
Molecules in which the central atom has only bond pairs in the valence shell will have regular
geometry. The presence of lone pairs in addition to bond pairs in the valence shell of the central
atom causes distortion in the geometry of the molecule.

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VSEPR theory gives the geometry of simple molecules but theoretically, it does not explain how
actually covalent bonds are formed. To overcome these limitations the two important theories
based on quantum mechanical principles are introduced. These are valence bond (VB) theory and
molecular orbital (MO) theory

Valence Bond Theory

The following are the postulates of valence bond theory

1. A covalent bond is formed by the overlapping of half-filled atomic orbitals present in the valence
shells of atoms.

2. The orbitals undergoing overlapping must have electrons in opposite spin.

3. The strength of a bond depends on the extent of overlapping. Greater the overlapping between
the atomic orbitals, the stronger is the bond formed

Types of overlapping and nature of covalent bonds

Depending upon the type of overlapping, the covalent bond may be divided into two types,
Sigma (σ) bond and Pi (π) bond.

Sigma (σ) bond:

This type of covalent bond is formed by the end to end overlapping of half-filled atomic orbitals along
the internuclear axis. The overlap is also known as head on overlap or axial overlap. The electrons
constituting sigma bond are called sigma electrons. Sigma bond may be formed by any one of the
following types of overlapping.

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(i) s-s overlapping: In this type, two half-filled s-orbitals overlap along the internuclear axis. For
example, hydrogen molecule is formed by the overlap of 1s orbital of one hydrogen atom with the Is
orbital of another hydrogen atom.

(ii) s - p overlapping: It involves overlap of half-filled s-orbital of one atom with half-filled p-orbital of
another atom.

(iii) p-p overlapping: end to end p-p overlapping occurs between half-filled p-orbitals of the two
approaching atoms as shown below.

p orbitals along the internuclear axis forms sigma bond. i,e., if the internuclear axis is z-axis, only
s-pz and pz - pz bond is sigma.
Pi (π) bond
This type of covalent bond is formed by the lateral or sidewise overlap of half-filled atomic orbitals. The
atomic orbitals overlap in such a way that their axes remain parallel to each other and perpendicular
to the internuclear axis.

The strength of a bond depends upon the extent of overlapping. Since in the formation of σ bond,
there is considerable overlapping it is a strong bond. On the other hand, in the formation of a π bond,
sideways overlapping takes place which is only to a small extent and hence it is a weak bond.
Hybridisation
The ground state electronic configuration of carbon is [He] 2s22p2. In order to explain the tetra
valency of carbon, it was proposed that at the time of chemical combination one of the electrons
from 2s orbital is promoted to the empty 2p, orbital, which is in a higher energy state. Thus, four
half-filled orbitals are formed in valence shell of carbon in the excited state as shown below.

Carbon atom in ground state

Carbon atom in excited state

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If carbon makes use of its 2s and all 2p orbitals as such for bonding it will result in bonds of different
strength and orientations. (One C - H bond will be formed by the overlap of 2s orbital of C and 1s
orbital of H whereas the other three C - H bonds will be formed by the overlap of 2p orbitals of C and
1s orbital of H). However, in CH4 molecule all bonds are identical. In order to explain this observed
fact, a concept called hybridisation is introduced.

Hybridisation is defined as the phenomenon of intermixing of atomic orbitals of different energies

and shapes to get an equal number of orbitals of equivalent energies and shapes.

Characteristics of hybridisation

The concept of hybridisation was introduced by Pauling. It is applicable to all types of atomic orbitals.
The important characteristics of hybridisation are:

1. The orbitals taking part in hybridisation should have almost the same energy.

2. The number of hybrid orbitals formed is equal to the number of orbitals taking part in hybridisation.

3. The hybrid-orbitals have equivalent energies and identical shape.

4. Both half-filled and completely filled orbitals can hybridise.

5. The hybrid orbitals are more effective in forming stable bonds than pure atomic orbitals. (Be-
cause the electron density of the hybrid orbital is concentrated more on one side of the nucleus and
hence more effective overlapping is possible.).

6. The hybrid orbitals are directed in space in some preferred directions to have stable arrangement
and hence the geometry of a molecule is decided by the type of hybridisation

Types of Hybridisation

sp³ hybridisation

The intermixing of one s and three p orbitals of an atom to form four orbitals of equivalent energy
which are directed to the four corners of a regular tetrahedron is called sp3 hybridisation. The orbitals
formed are called sp3 hybrid orbitals and the angle between sp3 hybrid orbitals is 109°28'.

1s 2s 2p

Carbon atom in ground state

Carbon atom in excited state

sp3 hybridisation

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sp² hybridisation

The intermixing of one s and two p orbitals of an atom to form three orbitals of equivalent energy
which are directed to the corners of an equilateral triangle is called sp2 hybridisation. The orbitals
formed are called sp² hybrid orbitals and the angle between sp2 hybrid orbitals is 1200.

1s 2s 2p

Carbon atom in ground state

Carbon atom in excited state

sp2 hybridisation

sp hybridisation

The intermixing of one s and and p orbitals to form two orbitals of equivalent energy is called sp
Hybridisation. The orbitals formed are directed along a line and the bond angles are 180°

MOLECULAR ORBITAL THEORY

Molecular orbital theory was proposed by Hund and Mulliken (1932). According to MO theory,

1. In molecules, electrons are present in a special type of orbitals called molecular orbitals.

2. Like atomic orbitals, the molecular orbitals are characterised by a set of quantum numbers,

3. Molecular orbitals are formed by the combination of atomic orbitals of nearly same energy and
proper symmetry.

4. The molecular orbitals are associated with the nuclei of all the atoms constituting the molecule.

5. The number of molecular orbitals formed is equal to the number of atomic orbitals combined,

6. The molecular orbitals are filled in the increasing order of energies (Aufbau principle) obeying
Pauli’s exclusion principle and Hund’s rule.

Formation of molecular orbitals

Molecular orbitals are formed by the combination of atomic orbitals. The atomic orbitals can combine
by (1) addition and (ii) subtraction of their wave functions. This is called the linear combination of
atomic orbital (LCAO) method.

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The molecular orbital Ψ b formed by the addition overlap of atomic orbitals, is called bonding
molecular orbital and Ψ a formed by the subtraction overlap of atomic orbitals, is called antibonding
molecular orbital. The combination of s orbitals is shown below

The energy levels of these molecular orbitals have been determined experimentally from
spectroscopic data for homonuclear diatomic molecules of second row elements of the periodic
table. The increasing order of energies of various molecular orbitals for O2 and F2 is given below

σ1s < σ*1s < σ 2s < σ*2s < σ 2pz < (π2px = π2py)< (π*2px= π*2py) < σ*2pz

However, this sequence of energy levels of molecular orbitals is not correct for the remaining
molecules Li2, Be2, B2, C2, N2. For instance, it has been observed experimentally that for molecules
such as B2, C2, N2, etc. the increasing order of energies of various molecular orbitals is

σ1s < σ*1s < σ 2s < σ*2s < (π2px = π2py) < σ 2pz < (π*2px= π*2py) < σ*2pz

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Bond order

Bond order (b.o.) is defined as one half the difference between the number of electrons
present in the bonding and the antibonding orbitals i.e.,

Bond order (b.o.) = ½ (Nb–Na)

Nb is the number of electrons occupying bonding orbitals and Na the number occupying the
antibonding orbitals

A positive bond order (i.e., Nb > Na) means a stable molecule while a negative (i.e., Nb< Na) or zero
(i.e., Nb = Na) bond order negative or zero bond order means that, there is no bond formation.

Hydrogen Bonding

Hydrogen bonding can be defined as the attractive force, that occurs between a hydrogen atom
covalently bonded to a highly electronegative atom (like oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine) and another
electronegative atom.

Types of H-Bonds

There are two types of H-bonds

(i) Intermolecular hydrogen bond

(ii) Intramolecular hydrogen bond

When hydrogen bond occurs between two different molecules it is called an intermolecular hydrogen
bond and if hydrogen bond occurs between an electronegative atom and a hydrogen of the same
molecule it is called intramolecular hydrogen bond.

H δ+ − X δ− − − − −H δ+ − X δ− − − − −H δ+ − X δ−

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding

N
O

H
O

Intramolecular hydrogen bonding

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QUESTIONS 5. The number of electrons required in the

outermost shell to become stable is
LEVEL- I
1) Six 2) Five
1. Which among the following sets of species
does not follow octet rule 3) Eight 4) Four

1) BF3 6. A covalent bond is formed by the:

2) H2O 1) Transfer of electrons

2) Sharing of electrons
3) NH3
3) Attraction between ions
4) NaCl
4) Repulsion between nuclei
2. π - bonds are formed by the
7. A double covalent bond involves the sharing
1) end to end overlap of p orbitals of how many electrons between two atoms?

1) 1 2) 2
2) sidewise overlap of s orbitals
3) 4 4) 6
3) sidewise overlap of p orbitals
8. An ionic bond is primarily formed by the
4) overlap of s-p orbitals
1) Sharing of electrons between nonmetals
3. The formation of ionic bond is favoured by
2) Sharing of electrons between metals
1) High atomic mass
3) Transfer of electrons from a metal to a
non metal
2) High dielectric constant
4) Attraction between two neutral atoms
3) Low polarizability
9. According to VSEPR theory, the shape of
4) Low ionization enthalpy for one of the a water (H2O) molecule is bent due to the
atom presence of:

4. The shape of CO2 molecule 1) Two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen
atom
1) Linear
2) Two single bonds between oxygen and
hydrogen atoms
2) Tetrahedral
3) Strong repulsion between the hydrogen
3) Triagonal planar atoms

4) Square 4) The linear arrangement of atoms

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10. Hybridization is the concept of mixing 14. In a polar covalent bond, the electrons are:
atomic orbitals to form new hybrid orbitals
with:
1) Shared equally between the two atoms
1) Different shape and energies
2) Transferred completely from one atom to
2) Similar shapes and different energies another

3) Similar shapes and energies

3) Shared unequally, leading to a partial
4) Different shapes and similar energies positive and partial negative charge on the
atoms
11. Electronegativity is a measure of an atom’s
ability to:
4) Not involved in the bond formation
1) Lose electrons
15. What is the hybridization of the central atom
2) Gain electrons in a molecule of methane (CH4)?

3) Attract shared electrons in a chemical

bond 1) sp

4) Donate protons
2) sp2
12. A Lewis dot structure is a diagram that
shows: 3) sp3

1) The arrangement of protons and neutrons

in an atom 4) dsp3

2) The number of neutrons and electrons in

an atom LEVEL- II

3) The valence electrons of an atom as dots 16. Which of the following statements is true
around the element symbol about hydrogen bonds?

4) The complete electronic configuration of

an atom 1) They are stronger than covalent bonds

13. Valence electrons are the electrons present

2) They are a type of metallic bond
in the:

1) Innermost shell of an atom 3) They occur between hydrogen and

highly electronegative atoms like oxygen,
2) Nucleus of an atom nitrogen, or fluorine

3) Outermost shell of an atom

4) They are responsible for the low boiling
4) Shells that are completely filled point of water

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21. During the formation of a chemical bond,

17. How many sigma ( σ ) and pi ( π ) bonds are
the energy of the system:
present in an ethene molecule (C2H4)?
1) Decreases
1) 4 σ and1 π
2) Increases
2) 5 σ and1 π

3) 2 σ and 2π 3) Remains unchanged

4) 6 σ and 0 π 4) Becomes zero

18. Which of the following statements correctly

22. Which of the following species contains
describes the relationship between bond
three bond pairs and one lone pair around
order and bond strength?
the central atom?
1) Higher bond order means weaker bond
+
strength 1) NH 4

2) Lower bond order means stronger bond

2) PCl3
strength

3) Higher bond order generally means 3) H2O

stronger bond strength
4) BF3
4) Bond order has no direct relationship
with bond strength
23. In the formation of a molecule, which of
19. Which of the following molecules has a the following will take part in the chemical
trigonal planar molecular geometry? combination?

1) Water (H2O) 1) Cation

2) Ammonia (NH3)
2) Anion
3) Boron trifluoride (BF3)
3) Valence electron
4) Methane (CH4)
4) Inner shell electron
20. The VSEPR theory is used to predict:

1) The bond strength in a molecule 24. Which of the following molecules has a
resonance structure?
2) The reactivity of a molecule
1) H2O 2) CO2
3) The shape of a molecule
−
4) The type of hybridization in a molecule 3) NO 2 4) CH4

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25. Which of the following molecules has a 30. Which of the following does not exhibit
pyramidal shape? hydrogen bonding?

1) PCl3 1) HF

2) SO3 2) CH3OH

2− 3) NH3
3) CO3

−
4) NO3 4) CH4

26. Which of the following species has a bond LEVEL- III

order of 3?
31. The bond order of NO+ ion is:
−
1) N2 2) O 2
1) 1 2) 2
2−
3) O2 4) N 2
3) 2.5 4) 3
27. Which of the following species has the
weakest bond according to Molecular 32. Which of the following molecular structures
Orbital Theory (MOT)? is NOT possible?

− 1) OF2 2) SF4
1) O2 2) O 2

2−
3) O 2
+
4) O 2 3) OF4 4) SF2

28. Which of the following has a non-zero dipole 33. The molecule having the highest dipole
moment? moment is:

1) CO2 1) CO2 2) CH4

2) BeCl2 3) NH3 4) NF3

3) BF3 34. The species which has triangular planar

geometry is”
4) NH3
1) NF3
29. Which of the following molecules is
diamagnetic? −
2) NO3

+
1) O2 2) O 2 3) AlCl3

−
3) O 2 4) N2 4) SbH3

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35. The correct order of stability for the following 39. The species having highest bond energy is:
species is:
+
+ + 1) O2 2) O 2
1) Li 2 < He 2 < O 2 < C2
− 2−
+ +
2) C 2 < O 2 < Li 2 < He 2 3) O 2 4) O 2

+ +
3) He 2 < Li 2 < C 2 < O 2 40. The order of pπ − dπ interaction in the

+ + compounds containing bond between Si/

4) O 2 < C 2 < Li 2 < He 2 P/S/Cl and oxygen is in the order:

36. The hybridisation of boron in the stable

borane having the lowest molecular weight 1) P > Si > Cl > S
is:
2) Si < P < S < Cl
1) sp3
3) S < Cl < P < Si
2) sp3d

4) Si > P > S > Cl

3) sp

4) sp2d 41. The pair that is isostructural (i.e. having the

same shape and hybridization) is:
37. For SF4, the molecular geometry and
hybridization of the central atom respectively 1) NF3 and BF3
are:
− +
1) Square planar, dsp2 2) BF4 and NH 4

2) Tetrahedral, sp3 3) BCl3 and BrCl3

3) See-saw, sp3d −
4) NH3 and NO3

4) Square pyramid, sp3d2

42. The structure of a molecule of N(SiMe3)3 is:
38. The species that cannot exist is:
1) Pyramidal with angle close to 1100
2−
1) SiF6
2) T-shaped with angle 900
3−
2) BF6
3) Bent-T-shaped with angle close to 890
3) SF6

3−
4) Trigonal planar with bond angle close to
4) AlF6 1200

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43. Which of the following ions is isoelectronic 45. Which condition is essential for hydrogen
with Ne? bonding?

1) Na+
1) Presence of hydrogen only

2) O2–
2) A hydrogen atom bonded to a metal
3) F –

3) A hydrogen atom bonded to a highly

4) All of these electronegative atom (like N, O, F)

44. Which molecule has delocalized π -bonding?

4) A hydrogen atom bonded to a group 2
element
1) CH4

2) H2O

3) O3

4) NH3

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ANSWER KEY

LEVEL I

1. 1 6. 2 11. 3
2. 3 7. 3 12. 3
3. 4 8. 3 13. 3
4. 1 9. 1 14. 3
5. 3 10. 3 15. 3

LEVEL II

16. 3 21. 1 26. 1

17. 2 22. 2 27. 3
18. 3 23. 3 28. 4
19. 3 24. 3 29. 4
20. 3 25. 1 30. 4

LEVEL III

31. 4 36. 1 41. 2

32. 3 37. 3 42. 4
33. 3 38. 2 43. 4
34. 2 39. 2 44. 3
35. 3 40. 2 45. 3

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