1) Can bond order be a negative value?

2) For the H2+ molecule, absorption of light can cause an electron to be promoted from the
σg to the σu* orbital. The equilibrium bond length for the resulting excited molecule will
be

a) shorter than for H2+ in the ground state.
b) longer than for H2+ in the ground state.
c) equal to that for H2+ in the ground state.
d) None of the above. The molecule is not stable and the will fall apart.

Answer :

meerkat18
The bond order of a molecule is related to the stability of the atom. Positive bond order means there is a stable species while a negative order reflects an unstable such that the molecule doesnt exist. The greater the bond order, the shorter the bond length will be, vice versa. Hence the answer here is B.

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