Examkracker Chemistry Lecture 1 Error?!

[MedGrl@2022]

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22. Which of the following best explains why sulfur can make more bonds than oxygen?

A. Sulfur is more electronegative than oxygen. not true

B. Oxygen is more electronegative than sulfur. true, but why would this allow sulfur to make more bonds?

C. Sulfur has 3d orbitals not available to oxygen. I think the electron configuration for Sulfur (S) is [Ne]3s^2, 3p^4, therefore no 3d orbitals

D. Sulfur has fewer valence electrons. Sulfur and Oxygen belong to the same family and should have the same number of valence electrons....

The book says the answer is C "Because sulfur is larger than oxygen, sulfur has 3d subshells available that allow electrons to form bonds and break the octet rule of the Lewis structure.


Is this an error? I am confused. Someone's explanation and more information would be awesome.

Thank you,

Verónica

 

[Trayshawn]

no filled d orbits does not equal no d orbitals at all. They're still there - empty but ready to be filled by those extra bonds that oxygen cant make.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

no filled d orbits does not equal no d orbitals at all. They're still there - empty but ready to be filled by those extra bonds that oxygen cant make.

Hey Trayshawn. Thank you for your response. I am a bit confused because I thought that only elements after 21 (Sc) had 3d orbitals. How do I know which elements actually have d orbitals? How was I supposed to know that Sulfur had d orbitals and not Oxygen?

Thank you once again for all your help!

Verónica

 

[Saint Fu]

Hey Trayshawn. Thank you for your response. I am a bit confused because I thought that only elements after 21 (Sc) had 3d orbitals. How do I know which elements actually have d orbitals? How was I supposed to know that Sulfur had d orbitals and not Oxygen?

Thank you once again for all your help!

Verónica

I think it helps to think about the quantum numbers. For sulfur's valence electrons, n=3, which means you have the 3s, 3p, and 3d orbitals available. In the case of oxygen, where valence electrons have n=2, you only have 2s and 2p, and the next available orbital would be 3s, which is highly unfavorable energetically.