(a) What type of chemical bond is present in the chlorine molecule? Explain your answer.
(b) Explain the formation of a chlorine molecule on the basis of the electronic theory of valency.
Answer :
(a) In a chlorine molecule, the atoms bonded by a covalent bond as a chlorine atom needs one electron to complete its octet and shares one electron with another chlorine atom.
(b) The atomic number of chlorine is 17 and its electronic configuration is 2, 8, 7. It needs one more electron to complete its octet. Chlorine gets this electron by sharing with another atom. So each chlorine atom shares one electron to form a chlorine molecule.