Question

Sort the following in increasing order of their atomicity.

• A. $\text{Ne}$
• B. ${\text{O}}_3$
• C. ${\text{SO}}_3$
• D. ${\text{CH}}_4$

Answer 1

Atomicity is defined as the total number of atoms in one molecule of a substance.

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\text{Molecule}& \text{Constituent Atoms}& \text{Atomicity}\\ Ne& \text{1 Ne}& \text{One}\\ O_3& \text{3 O}& \text{Three}\\ C{H}_4& \text{1 C, 4 H}& \text{Five}\\ S{O}_3& \text{1 S, 3 O}& \text{Four}\end{array}$$
Thus, the ascending order of atomicity is: $Ne$ < $O_3$ < $S{O}_3$ < $C{H}_4$