Question

What is an example of an electron configurations practice problem?

Answer 1

Why is the bond order of `O_2^-` smaller than the bond order of `N_2^-`?
Hint: Draw out the molecular orbital diagram, fill it in, and try writing a configuration for it. These do not have the same orbital ordering. The bond order of `O_2^-` is actually 3/2. The bond order of `N_2^-` is 7/2, as expected.

The relevant configurations go from bottom to top:

`(2ssigma_g)(2ssigma_u^*)(2p_(x,y)pi_u)(2p_zsigma_g)(2p_(x,y)pi_g^*)(2p_zsigma_u^*)`