Inorganic Chemistry

Tutorial 1

1. Arrange, WITH REASONS, the following atoms/ions in order of:

1.1 decreasing ionic radius Mg2+,Na+;, Al3+

Na+ > Mg2+ > Al3+

1.2 For each of the following sets of atoms, rank them from lowest to highest
electronegativity.

1.2.1 N, C, Li
Li, C, N
1.2.2 Ne, O, C
Ne, C, O
1.2.3 O, P, Si
Si, P, O

1.3 Increasing ionic radius K+; Se2-; I-; Sr2+

K+ < Sr2+ < Se2- < I-

2. Provide the noble gas core electron gas configuration of the following elements:

2.1 Arsenic (As)

2.2 Silver (Ag)

3. Indicate, with reasons, which compound in each of the following pairs have the higher
boiling point.

3.1 HBr or HF

HF. The inter nuclear distance in HF is smaller than in HBr. As a result, the
attraction is strong, leading to more energy required to break the
intermolecular bonds.
 3.2 NO or O2

The species with fewer intermolecular attractive forces will have a lower
boiling point. Since O2 is a non-polar molecule, compared to NO which is a
polar molecule, it will have a lower boiling point.

3.3 SiO2 or CHI3

CHI3 will have the higher boiling point because of the presence of hydrogen
bonding.

3.4 MgO or NaCl

MgO has a higher melting point than NaCl. This is because its Mg2+ and O2-
ions have a greater number of charges, so they form stronger ionic bonds than
the Na+ and Cl- ions in sodium chloride.

4. What does electronegativity have to do with bond polarity?

The greater the difference in electronegativity between two covalently bonded atoms, the
more polar the bond.

5. Why is the bond length of nitrogen much shorter than the bond length of chlorine?

Nitrogen, N2, has a triple bond, while chlorine, Cl2, is singly bonded. Generally,
multiple bonds are shorter than single bonds because the atoms are held more
tightly together.

6. List three differences between ionic and covalent compounds.

- Ionic compounds are hard, covalent compounds are not.

- Ionic compounds are brittle, covalent compounds are not.

- Ionic compounds have a high melting and boiling point, covalent compounds
have a low melting and boiling point.

- Ionic compounds involve the transfer of electrons, while covalent compounds share
electrons.

- Ionic compounds conduct electricity when dissolved in water, covalent compounds

don’t.
7. Briefly explain what is meant by the coordination number of an ionic compound.

The number of nearest neighbours bonded to an ion is its coordination number

8. Associate each of the solids: CsI, SiO2, Ni, and SiCl3H with one of the following sets
of properties:

8.1 A very hard solid subliming at 2900oC.

SiO2

8.2 A yellowish solid having a melting point of 40oC and is a nonconductor of

electricity when molten (in the liquid state).

SiCl3H

8.3 A lustrous solid melting at about 1600oC. This substance conducts electricity
in both the solid and liquid states.

Ni

8.4 A white solid melting at about 700oC. This substance conducts electricity in
the liquid state, but not in the solid state

CsI

9.

9.1 Use reaction equations to briefly discuss the energy changes in the formation
of solid silver chloride from solid silver and chlorine gas.

Sublimation Energy : Ag(s)  Ag(g)

Ionization energy : Ag(g)  Ag+(g)

Dissociation energy : ½ Cl2(g)  Cl(g)
Electron affinity : Cl (g)  Cl -(g)
Lattice formation energy : Ag+(g) + Cl -(g)  AgCl(s)
9.2 Calculate the lattice enthalpy of silver chloride from the following data.
Sublimation energy = 284 kJmol-1
Ionization energy = 731 kJmol-1
Dissociation energy = 122 kJmol-1
Electron affinity = -349 kJmol-1
Lattice formation energy of silver chloride = -127 kJmol-1