Step 1: Understand what bond order means. Bond order is a number that tells us how many bonds are between two atoms in a molecule.
Step 2: Identify the molecule we are looking at, which is N2 (nitrogen gas).
Step 3: Know that each nitrogen atom has 5 valence electrons. So, for two nitrogen atoms, we have a total of 10 valence electrons.
Step 4: Determine how these electrons are arranged in bonding and antibonding orbitals. In N2, all 10 electrons are in bonding orbitals and there are no electrons in antibonding orbitals.
Step 5: Use the bond order formula: Bond Order = (Number of bonding electrons - Number of antibonding electrons) / 2.
Step 6: Plug in the numbers: Bond Order = (10 bonding - 0 antibonding) / 2.
Step 7: Calculate the bond order: (10 - 0) / 2 = 10 / 2 = 5.
Step 8: Realize that I made a mistake in the calculation. The correct bond order for N2 is actually 3, not 5, because N2 has a triple bond.
