EDU Station Call: 3200 3200

UNIT 7 – p Block Elements

Account for the following:

1. Nitrogen is not very reactive at room temperature.

Due to high bond enthalpy of N≡N
2. Maximum covalency of nitrogen is 4.
No empty d-orbitals
3. Nitrogen does not form any pentahalide.
No empty d-orbitals
4. PCl 5 exists while NCl 5 is nonexistent
P contains empty d-orbitals while N doesn’t
5. Oxygen is a gas while sulphur is a solid at room temperature.
Oxygen exist as diatomic molecule with O=O, S exist as octaatomic S8 molecule which
is much larger so the magnitude of intermolecular forces is large
6. S2 formed at higher temperatures is paramagnetic.
Due to presence of unpaired electrons in π*
7. Phosphine has lower boiling point than ammonia.
Intermolecular Hydrogen-bonding in ammonia
8. When passed through water, PH3 forms bubbles but NH3 dissolves.
NH3 can form hydrogen bonding with water so dissolves
9. PCl3 fumes in moist air.
Due to formation of HCl. PCl3 + 3H2O → H3PO3 + 3HCl
10. Phosphorus exists as P4 while nitrogen exists as N2.
N can form stable pπ-pπ bond while P can’t. So P exists as tetrahedral molecule with P-P
single bond.
11. Ammonia is a better complexing agent than phosphine.
Since ammonia is a stronger lewis base due to greater e- density on N
12. BF3 and PF3 are not isostructural.
BF3-sp2 while PF3-sp3
13. Only iodine forms XX’ 7 type of inter-halogen compound
Due to large size and lower electronegativity it e- can unpair to max extent (sp3d3)
14. Halogens occur only in the form of compounds in nature
Due to their high reactivity
15. Chlorine is a gas, bromine a liquid and iodine a solid
Larger the size of the molecules more is the magnitude of intermolecular forces
16. Bond dissociation energy of F-F is less than that of Cl-Cl.
Due to stronger repulsions between lone pair of e-s in F2
17. H3PO3 is dibasic while H3PO2 is monobasic.
Only O-H bond can ionize. H3PO3 – 2 O-H bonds, H3PO2 – 1 O-H bonds. (Structures)
18. Xe forms compounds only with fluorine and oxygen.
Because F and O are most electronegative elements.
19. BrCl is more reactive than Cl2
Br-Cl bond is weaker than Cl-Cl bond
20. HPH angle in PH3 is less than HNH angle in NH3.
Due to small size and high electronegativity of N, more bp-bp repulsions, so greater angle
EDU Station Call: 3200 3200

21. The axial bond length is longer than the equatorial bond length in PCl5.
Due to greater repulsions. Axial 3 repulsion at 90o, equatorial 2. (Structure)
22. The boiling point of HF is higher than that of HCl.
Intermolecular Hydrogen-bonding in HF
23. The bond angle in H2O is 104.5o while that in Cl2O is 112o.
More repulsion between large Cl atoms
24. NO2 dimerises to form N2O4
NO2 is an odd e- molecule
25. SF6 is chemically inert.
SF6 is octahedral & S is surrounded by F from all the sides
26. SF6 is known while SCl6 is unknown.
Cl is less electronegative so can’t unpair all valence e- of S.
27. SO3 is more covalent than SO2.
Higher the Oxdn State more is the covalent nature
28. CF4 and SF4 are not isostructural.
CF4 – sp3, SF4 – sp3d
29. Oxygen does not show oxidation states of +4 and +6.
No empty d-orbitals
30. H3PO3 and H3PO2 act as good reducing agents while H3PO4 does not.
Acids containing P-H bonds are good reducing agents and oxidize to +5 state. H3PO4
contains no P-H & P is already in +5 state.
31. HF is a weaker acid than HCl.
Because H-F bond is stronger
32. Fluorine exhibits only –1 oxidation state.
Most electronegative element
33. Fluorine is the strongest oxidizing agent.
Due to low bond diss enthalpy and high hydration enthalpy has maximum tendency to
gain e-. This is indicated by its highest positive standard electrode potential.
34. F has lower electron gain enthalpy than chlorine.
Due to its small size the incoming e- is repelled strongly by its valence e-s, so less energy
is released.
35. Chlorine water loses its yellow colour on standing/ Chlorine water has both oxidizing
and bleaching properties
Cl2 + H2O → HCl + HOCl. HOCl so formed gives nascent O responsible for oxidizing
and bleaching.
36. Bismuth is a strong oxidizing agent in pentavalent state.
Due to inert pair effect +5 state of Bi is less stable than +3. So +5 state acts as O.A.
37. Binary compounds of oxygen and fluorine are called fluorides and not oxides.
Because F is more electronegative than O
38. Noble gases have very low melting and boiling points.
Noble gases are monoatomic, so possess only weak dispersion force.
39. In contact process, SO3 is dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid and not in water.
SO3 dissolves in water to give sulphuric acid but this is high exothermic and corrosive
mist H2SO4 is formed which spoils the machinery.
40. Red phosphorus is less reactive than white phosphorus
Red P is Polymeric while white P is discrete with considerable angular strain.
EDU Station Call: 3200 3200

UNIT 8 –d and f Block Elements

1. Transition metals form alloys with other transition metals easily.

Due to similar atomic radii and other characterstics
2. Melting points of transition metals increase up to the middle of the series
and then decrease.
Greater the no. of unpaired e-s in d-subshell stronger the metallic bonding
3. Transition metals and their compounds are good catalysts.
Because the can form complexes and also exhibit variable oxdn states
4. Zn, Cd and Hg are softer and volatile metals.
Weaker metallic bonding due to fully filled d10 configuration
5. Cr and Cu exhibit exceptional electronic configurations.
Due to extra stability of d5 and d10 configurations
6. Transition metals have high melting points.
Due to strong metallic bonding because of participation of both ns and (n-1)d e-s
7. Transition metals compounds are mostly coloured.
Due to d-d transition
8. Sc3+ and Zn2+ are colourless in aqueous solutions.
No d-d transition as Sc3+ is d0 and Zn2+ is d10
9. Transition metals exhibit variable oxidation states.
Due to participation of both ns and unpaired (n-1)d e-s
10. Transition metal series exhibit fewer oxidation states at their extreme ends. (Sc, Ti, Cu)
At the start very few d e-s and at the end all d e-s are paired
11. Transition metals have high enthalpy of atomisation.
Due to strong metallic bonding
12. Generally speaking, the enthalpies of atomisation and melting points transition metals of
3d, 4d and 5d series increase steadily down the group
Strength of metallic bonding increases as we move down the group
13. Ce4+ is a good oxidant & Eu2+ is a good reducing agent
Stable oxdn state for lanthanoids is +3, so +4 O.A. & +2 R.A.
14. Transition metals and their compounds show paramagnetic behaviour.
Due to presence of unpaired e-s in d-subshell
15. Hydrated copper sulphate is blue whereas anhydrous copper sulphate is white.
In hydrated copper sulphate water is present as ligand, in anhydrous copper sulphate no
ligand, so no splitting of d-subshell, no d-d transition, no colour
16. The magnetic moments of the transition metals increase up to the middle of the series
and then decrease.
Max unpaired e- are present in the middle of the series
17. Transition metals generally form complex compounds.
Due to small size, high ionic charge and availability of empty d orbitals
18. Transition metals form interstitial compounds.
Small atoms like H, C and N can enter interstitial site and form bonds
19. The third ionisation enthalpies of Mn & Zn are quite high in comparison to Fe.
Mn2+ is d5 so diff to remove third e-. Zn+2 is d10 so diff to remove third e-.
20. Zn has little tendency to form complexes.
No empty d-orbital.
EDU Station Call: 3200 3200

21. Zn, Cd and Hg are not considered as true transition metals.

Because in elemental state and common oxdn state their d-subshell is complete
22. [Ti(H2O)6]3+ is coloured while [Sc(H2O)6]3+ is colourless.
Ti3+ - d1, so d-d transition hence coloured. Sc3+ - d0, no d-d transition
23. Mn2+ compounds are more stable than Fe2+ compounds towards oxidation to +3 state.
Mn2+ - d5, Fe2+ - d6, exactle ½ more stable
24. The most common oxidation state of lanthanoids is +3. However cerium and europium
form additional oxidation states of +4 and +2 respectively.
Ce shows +4 & Eu shows +2 due to extra stability of f0 and f7 config respectively
25. A transition metal exhibits higher oxidation states in oxides and fluorides.
Because F and O are most electronegative elements
26. The d1 configuration is very unstable in ions of d-Block elements.
Because d0 is very stable (noble gas config), so d1 oxidises to d0
27. Scandium(II) is virtually unknown.
Due to unstable d1 configuration
28. The magnetic moment of Co3+ is higher than that of Co2+.
Co3+ – d6, Co2+ - d7, Co3+ contains more no. of unpaired e-s
29. The lowest oxide of transition metal is basic, the highest is acidic.
Lower oxdn states are ionic so basic, higher covalent so acidic
30. The densities of post-lanthanoid elements are very high.
Due to lanthanoid contraction. Size dec, density inc
31. The atomic sizes of corresponding elements of 4d and 5d series are almost the same.
Due to lanthanoid contraction
32. La3+ and Lu3+ are colourless while rest of lanthanoids are coloured in the solid
as well as in aqueous state.
La3+ - f0 & Lu3+ - f14. So no f-f transition, hence colourless
33. The first-ionisation enthalpies of the 5-d transition elements are higher than those of
the 4-d metals.
Due to lanthanoid contraction 5-d has lesser size but greater nuclear charge so they tend
to higher IE
34. Cu+ is diamagnetic whereas Cu2+ is paramagnetic.
Cu+ - d10 – no unpaired e- so diamagnetic. Cu2+ - d9 – one unpaired e- so paramagnetic
35. The ionisation enthalpy of Hf (6th period) is higher than that of Zr (5th period).
Due to lanthanoid contraction Hf (6th period) has lesser size but greater nuclear charge so
higher IE