Day 6: Molecular Orbitals
As two atoms approach the valence electrons of each begin to be influenced by the other atom. Atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals that increase electron density between the atomic nuclei, resulting in a chemical bond. When the two nuclei are at the bond length energy is at a minimum. Bond order reflects the number of shared electron pairs and correlates with how much the energy of the bonded atoms has been lowered. When two identical atoms form a bond, the molecular orbitals (and the corresponding electron density distributions) are symmetric, but when two different atoms combine the molecular orbitals often reflect unequal electron density distributions. In some cases this unequal sharing results in formation of ions so that MO theory predicts ionic bonding.
Here are links to all sections of the work for Day Six. Be sure to complete them before your whole-class meeting.
D6.1 Covalent Bonding: Molecular Orbitals
D6.2 Molecular Orbital (MO) Diagram
D6.3 MO Electron Configuration and Bond Order
D6.4 MOs for Second-row Diatomic Molecules
D6.5 MOs for Heteronuclear Diatomic Molecules
Please use this form to report any inconsistencies, errors, or other things you would like to change about this page. We appreciate your comments. 🙂 (Note that we cannot answer questions via the google form. If you have a question, please post it on Piazza.)
