Question

Read the following and select one the correct answer:

Statement I: $LiCl$ is predominantly a covalent compound
Statement II: Electronegativity difference between Li and Cl is too small

• A. Statement I and Statement II are both correct. Statement II correctly explains Statement I
• B. Statement I and Statement II are both correct. Statement II does not explain Statement I
• C. Statement II is correct and Statement I is wrong
• D. Statement I is correct and Statement II is wrong

Answer 1

The correct option is D

Statement I is correct and Statement II is wrong

Chlorine is a highly electronegative atom. Lithium is highly electropositive. Hence statement II is clearly incorrect. $L{i}^{+}$ has a high polarizing power and $C{l}^{-}$ with its large electron cloud is moderately polarizable. Hence, $LiCl$ is in fact, covalent.

Statement I is correct and Statement II is wrong.