JEE Main · 2022 · Shift-ImediumBOND-003

Which of the following pair of molecules contain an odd electron molecule and an expanded octet molecule?

Chemical Bonding · Class 11 · JEE Main Previous Year Question

Question

Which of the following pair of molecules contain an odd electron molecule and an expanded octet molecule?

Options
  1. a

    BCl3\mathrm{BCl_3} and SF6\mathrm{SF_6}

  2. b

    NO and H2SO4\mathrm{H_2SO_4}

  3. c

    SF6\mathrm{SF_6} and H2SO4\mathrm{H_2SO_4}

  4. d

    BCl3\mathrm{BCl_3} and NO

Correct Answerb

NO and H2SO4\mathrm{H_2SO_4}

Detailed Solution

🧠 Two properties to identify: (i) odd-electron molecule — total valence electrons is odd; (ii) expanded octet molecule — central atom from period 3+ has more than 4 bond pairs.

Check odd-electron: NO has 5+6=115 + 6 = 11 valence electrons (odd) → odd-electron molecule ✓

Check expanded octet: \ceH2SO4\ce{H2SO4} — S forms 2 S=O bonds and 2 S–OH bonds (or 4 bonds + expanded resonance), giving S more than 8e. Expanded octet ✓

Eliminate distractors:

  • \ceBCl3\ce{BCl3}: B has 6e — electron-deficient, not expanded
  • \ceSF6\ce{SF6}: S has 12e — expanded octet, but not odd-electron

Only option (b) pairs an odd-electron molecule (NO) with an expanded-octet molecule (\ceH2SO4\ce{H2SO4}).

Answer: (b) NO and \ceH2SO4\boxed{\text{Answer: (b) NO and } \ce{H2SO4}}

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