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Question

Catenation is self linking property of__________ .


A

Oxygen

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B

Helium

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C

Carbon

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D

Nitrogen

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Solution

The correct option is C

Carbon


The explanation for the correct option:

(C) Carbon:

  • Carbon has a property of self-linking that is called catenation property.
  • Carbon has an atomic no of 6 and its electronic configuration is as follows- C612:2,4
  • As we can observe carbon has 4 electrons in its outer shell which means it needs 4 more electrons to complete its octet and losing and gaining 4 electrons are very high energy-required processes so carbon shares its 4 electrons and form a covalent bond.
  • Carbon can link to another carbon by multiple bonds(single, double, and triple) to form different compounds. Till now millions of organic compounds have been discovered and serve as vital compounds in living organisms.
  • The ability of carbon to form long chains can be represented as:

The explanation for the incorrect option:

(A) Oxygen: Oxygen has 6 electrons in its outer shell so it needs only 2 electrons and oxygen gains two electrons to complete its octet. The catenation tendency is less for oxygen because of the lone pair repulsion and smaller size.

(B) Helium: Helium is a noble gas which does not show catenation properties. Its duplet is complete and it doesn't require any other electron.

(C) Nitrogen: Nitrogen has 5 electrons in its outer shell so it requires only 3 electrons from the outer shell and it accepts these three electrons. The catenation tendency is less for nitrogen because of the small size and electron pair repulsion.

Therefore, option (C) is correct. i.e., catenation is the self-linking property of carbon.


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