The correct order of increasing bond angles in the following triatomic species is - NEET UG 2008 Chemistry · Organic Chemistry PYQ

NEET UG 2008 — Chemistry Organic Chemistry

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The correct order of increasing bond angles in the following triatomic species is

Official previous-year question

Held on 30 Apr 2008 · Verified 9 Jul 2026.

Options

A
$\mathrm{NO}_2^{-} < \mathrm{NO}_2^{+} < \mathrm{NO}_2$
B
$\mathrm{NO}_2^{-} < \mathrm{NO}_2 < \mathrm{NO}_2^{+}$
C
$\mathrm{NO}_2^{+} < \mathrm{NO}_2 < \mathrm{NO}_2^{-}$
D
$\mathrm{NO}_2^{+} < \mathrm{NO}_2^{-} < \mathrm{NO}_2$

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Solution

Key Idea : As the number of lone pair of electrons increases, bond angle decreases. $\mathrm{NO}_2^{+}$ ion is isoelectronic with $\mathrm{CO}_2$ molecule. It is a linear ion and its central atom $\left(\mathrm{N}^{+}\right)$ undergoes $s p$ -hybridisation, hence bond angle is $180^{\circ}$ . In $\mathrm{NO}_2^{-}$ ion, $\mathrm{N}$ -atom undergoes $s p^2$ hybridisation. The angle between hybrid orbital should be $120^{\circ}$ but one lone pair of electrons is lying on $\mathrm{N}$ -atom, hence bond angle decreases to $115^{\circ}$ . In $\mathrm{NO}_2$ molecule, $\mathrm{N}$ -atom has one unpaired electron in $s p^2$ -hybrid orbital. The bond angle should be $120^{\circ}$ but actually it is $132^{\circ}$ . It may be due to one unpaired electron in $s p^2$ -hybrid orbital. Therefore, the increasing order of bond angles is : $\underset{\left(115^{\circ}\right)}{\mathrm{NO}_2^{-}} < \underset{\left(132^{\circ}\right)}{\mathrm{NO}_2} < \underset{\left(180^{\circ}\right)}{\mathrm{NO}_{+}^{+}}$

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