When two identical nonmetal atoms are bonded together, what is the result?
1 Answer
Jul 6, 2016
A diatomic molecule.
Realistic examples are the diatomic molecules known to naturally exist (room temperature phases):
#"H"_2 (g)# #"O"_2 (g)# #"F"_2 (g)# #"Br"_2 (l)# #"I"_2 (s)# #"N"_2 (g)# #"Cl"_2 (g)#
Or, the mnemonic, "HOFBrINCl". Indeed, these were all nonmetal atoms (hydrogen is not an alkali metal).
Since they each contain two identical atoms, they bond by matching and overlapping identical orbitals (e.g.
