UNIT-7

MARKS-8

p-Block Elements
Ques: Why is N2 inert at room temperature?
(1 Mark)
Ans: N2 is inert at room temperature because of high bond enthalpy due tothe presence of triple
bond in N2.
Ques: Why are the axial bonds in PCl5 longer than equatorial bonds?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Axial bonds are longer than equatorial bonds in PCl5 because of the higher repulsion
experienced by the axial bond pairs as three pair of electrons repel them whereas only
two pair of electrons repel the equatorial bonds
Ques: What happens when SO2 passed through an aqueous solution of Fe3+ salt? (1 Mark)
Ans:
2Fe3+ + SO2 + 2H2O 2Fe2+ + SO42- + 4H+
Ques: What is Oleum and How is it forms?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Oleum is H2S2O7. It forms during the preparation of sulphuric acid, as follows:
SO3 +
H2SO4
H2S2O7
sulphur trioxide
Oleum
+
Ques: Why is the bond angle in PH4 higher than in PH3?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Alone pair of electrons is not present in PH4+. But in PH3, the presence oflone pair of
electrons repel the bonds giving a smaller bond angle.
Ques: Why does PCl3 fume in atmosphere?
(1 Mark)
Ans: PCl3 fumes in atmosphere due to its hydrolysis in the presence of moisture in atmosphere.
PCl3 + 3H2O H3PO3 + 3HCl
Ques: What happens when H3PO3 is heated?
(1
Mark)
Ans: H3PO3 when heated, disproportionate to give orthophosphoric acid and phosphine.
4H3PO3 3H3PO4 + PH3
Ques: Why are noble gases least reactive?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Noble gases are least reactive because their valence shells are completely filled or they
already have octet configuration, which gives them the maximum stability.
Ques: Why is the ionization energy of group 15 elements higher than that of group 14 elements?
(1
Mark)

Ans: The ionization energy of group 15 elements is higher than that of group 14 elements
because the elements of group 15 have extra stable half-filled p orbital configuration and
their size is smaller due to the higher nuclear charge.
Ques: Why does the tendency to exhibit the -3 oxidation state decreases down the group for
group 15 elements?
(1 Mark)
Ans: The tendency to exhibit -3 oxidation state decreases down the group because of the
increase in atomic radii and metallic character down the group.
Ques: Why does basicity decrease form NH3 to BiH3?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Basicity decreases from NH3 to BiH3 because as the size of atom increases the electron
density decreases and the tendency to donate electrons decreases.Thus, the basic
character decreases from NH3 to BiH3.
Ques: Why does NH3 has higher boiling point than PH3?
(1 Mark)
Ans: NH3 has higher boiling point than PH3 because of the presence of inter molecular
hydrogen bonding in NH3, as the electronegativity difference is quite high in case of
Nand H.
Ans: Thermal decomposition of ammonium dichromate:
(NH4)2Cr2O7 N2 + 4H2O + Cr2O3
Ques: How does NH3 behaves as a Lewis base?
(1 Mark)
Ans: N in NH3 has a lone pair of electrons that can be donated to form linkage with the metal
ions and hence NH3 acts as Lewis base.
Ques: Why is SF6 exceptionally stable?
(1 Mark)
Ans: In SF6, the six F atoms protect the central sulphur atom and does not allow any reagent to
attack the S atom, thus making the compound extra stable. It is due to the small size of F
atom.
Ques: Which aerosols deplete ozone?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Freons in aerosol sprays and refrigerants deplete ozone.
Ques: Fluorine has a lower electron gain enthalpy than chlorine. Give reason. (1 Mark)
Ans: Due to the small size of fluorine, thereis astrong inter electronic repulsions in the
relativelycompact 2p-orbitals of flourine. So the electron gain enthalpy of fluorine is
lower than that of chlorine.
Ques: Why are halogens coloured?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Halogens are coloured because they absorb radiations in visible region, resulting in the
excitation to higher energy level and transmit the remaining light.The colour of that
transmitted light is the colour of Halogen.
Ques: All halogens except F exhibit +1, +3, +5 & +7 Oxidation states. Why? (1 Mark)

Ans: F cannot show oxidation states other than -1 because of the lack of d orbitals and its higher
electronegativity.Other halogens can show higher oxidation states due the presence of
vacant d orbitals.
Ques: HF is liquid at room temperature while other halides are gases. Why?(1 Mark)
Ans: HF is liquid at room temperature due to the presence of hydrogen bonding between
Hydrogen and Flourine atoms But no H-bonding is present in other halides so they are
gases.
Ques: Acidic strength increases in this order : HF<HCl<HBr<HI. Give reason. (1 Mark)
Ans: Acidic strength increases from HF to HI because, down the group,as the size of the
halogen increases, the Bond dissociation enthalpy decreases and it becomes easier for
thathalogen atom to lose its H+ ion.
Ques: Why are halogens Strong Oxidizing agent?
(1 Mark)
Ans: Halogens are strong oxidizing agents because they have high electron gain enthalpy as
they require only 1 electron tocompletetheir configuration.
Ques: Explain: fluorine forms only one Oxyacid , HOF.
(1 Mark)
Ans: Fluorine forms only one oxyacid because ithas high electronegativity and a small size. It
does not show any oxidation state other than -1.
Ques: What are the conditions, required to maximize the yield of sulphuric acid by Contact
Process?
(1
Mark)
Ans: For the maximum yield of sulphuric acid by Contact Process, We require low temperature,
high pressure, presence of a catalyst(V2O5),pure gases and excess of Oxygen.
Ques: Enthalpy of dissociation for F2 is smaller than that for Cl2. Why? (1 Mark)
Ans: Enthalpy dissociation for F2 is smaller than thatfor Cl2 because of the large electronelectron repulsion among the lone pairs in F2 molecule .They are very close to each other
than in Cl2.
Ques: Why are Inter Halogen compounds more reactive than Halogens? (1 Mark)
Ans: Inter halogen compounds are more reactive than halogens because the X-X bond in inter
halogen compounds is weaker than the X-X bonds in halogen compounds.It breaks easily
and thus compounds react more.
Ques: Give equations that involve during the brown ring test.
(2 Marks)
Ans: The equations involved in the brown ring test are:
1. NO3- (aq) + 3Fe2+ (aq) + 4H+ (aq) NO (g) + 3Fe3+ (aq) +2H2O(l)
2.[Fe(H2O)6]2+ + NO (g) [Fe(H2O)5(NO)]2+ (aq) + H2O
Brown Complex
Ques: H3PO3 is dibasic while H3PO4 is tribasic. Explain.
(2 Marks)

Ans: The P-H bonds in these compounds are not ionisable and do not play any role in basicity.
Only those atoms which are attached to O in P-OH form are ionisable and are responsible
for the basicity. Thus H3PO3 is dibasic as it has two P-OH bonds and H3PO4 is tribasic as
it has three P-OH bonds.
Ques: How is NH3 used for the detection of Cu2+ ions?
(2 Marks)
Ans: N in NH3 has a lone pair of electronwhich it can donates to Cu2+ ions and form linkage
with the metal.This leads to the formation of a deep blue colored complex which helps in
the detection of Cu2+ ions.
Cu2+(aq) + 4NH3(aq) = [Cu(NH3)4]2+(aq)
Ques: Why are Trihalides more stable than Pentahalides for Group 15? (2 Marks)
Ans: Trihalides are more stable than pentahalides because of the following reasons:
i)The stability of +5 oxidation state decreases while that of +3 oxidation state increases down the
group due to inert pair effect.
ii) For Br and I, the size is large. In pentabromides and pentaiodide, Steric hindrance is high and
Bond strength is low.
Ques: How is O3 estimated quantitatively?
(2 Marks)
Ans: When Ozone reacts with excess of Potassium Iodide solution, buffered with borate buffer,
Iodine is liberates which can be titrated against a standard solution of sodium
thiosulphate. By estimating the iodine liberated in the reaction, O3 can also be estimated
quantitatively.
2I- + H2O + O3 = 2OH- + I2 + O2
Ques: Why does the stability of +5 oxidation state decreases and that of +3 increases down the
Group 15?
(2 Marks)
Ans: In Group 15 while moving down, the stability of +5 oxidation state decreases due to inert
pair effect i.e. the ns2 electrons tend to remain paired in p block and so they do not take
part in chemical reactions for these elements. Hence, they show +3 oxidation state.
Ques: Give reactions for partial hydrolysis of XeF6.
(2
Marks)
Ans: On partial hydrolysis XeF6 gives oxyfluorides, XeOF4 and XeO2F2.
XeF6 + H2O = XeOF4 + 2HF
XeF6 + 2H2O = XeO2F2 + 4HF
Ques: How does Cl2 react with
(i) cold and dilute NaOH
(ii) hot and concentrated NaOH
(2 Marks)
Ans: When Chlorine reacts with cold sodium hydroxide, it forms sodium chloride.
(i) 2NaOH + Cl2 = NaCl + NaOCl + H2O
When Chlorine reacts withhot sodium hydroxide, it forms sodium chloride and other

products.
(ii) 6NaOH + 3Cl2 = 5NaCl + NaClO3 + 3H2O
Ques: How can SO2 be tested using KMnO4 solution?
(2 Marks)
Ans: when SO2 ispassed through acidified potassium permanganate solution.Itact as a reducing
agent and decolorizes the solution .
5SO2 + 2MnO4- + 2H2O = 5SO42- + 4H+ + 2Mn2+
Ques: How is reaction of Zn with dilute HNO3 different from its reaction with concentrated
HNO3?
(2 Marks)
Ans: With cold dilute Nitric acid Zn forms ammonium nitrate as follows:
4Zn + 10HNO3 (dilute) 4 Zn(NO3) 2+ 5H2O + N2O
Where as when Zn react with conc. Nitric acid ,it forms Nitrogen dioxide:
Zn + 4HNO3 Zn(NO3) + 2H2O 2NO2
Ques: Oxygen exists as gas at room temperature while sulphur is solid. Why?(2 Marks)
Ans: Oxygen exists as O2 i.e. O=O with weak vander wall forces and low molecular mass.
Therefore, it is in gaseous form at room temperature. While sulphur exists as S8 at room
temperature, its molecular mass is much higher and the forces of attraction are stronger.
Therefore, it is solid at a room temperature.
Ques: How is chlorine manufactured by Deacons process?
(2 Marks)
Ans: Cl2 is produced in Deacons process by the oxidation of hydrogen chloride by atmospheric
oxygen in the presence of CuCl2 at 723 K. 4HCl + O2 --------> 2Cl2 + 2H2O 723
K,CuCl2
Ques: What is Aqua regia? How does it dissolve gold metal?
(2 Marks)
Ans: Aqua regia is formed by mixing 3 parts of concentrated HCl and 1 part of concentrated
HNO3. It can dissolve gold as per the following reaction: Au + 4H+ NO3- + 4Cl- = AuCl4+ NO + 2H2O
Ques: Why Ammonia is a mild reducing agent while BiH3 is the strongest reducing agent among
all the hydrides?
(2 Marks)
Ans: From N to Bi, as the size of atom increases and tendency to form covalent bonds with H
decreases. Therefore the Thermal stability decreases down the group and their tendency
to liberate hydrogen increases. Hence, NH3 is a mild reducing agent while BiH3 is a very
strong reducing agent.
Ques: Oxygen has lesser electron gain enthalpy than Sulphur. Why?
(2 Marks)
Ans: The size of oxygen atom is very small as it is the first member of Group 16. Its electron
cloud is distributed over a small region of space making the electron density high which
repels the incoming electrons. Therefore, its electron gain enthalpy is lower than that of

sulphur as sulphur is larger in size hence the electron cloud is distributed over larger area
and the electron densityof the atom is low.
Ques: H2O is a liquid while H2S is a gas. Why?
(2 Marks)
Ans: Hydrogen bonding is present in H2O due to the small size.There is a high electronegativity
difference between oxygen and hydrogen leading to the polarizing of water molecule and
making it easier to form hydrogen bonds. So it is liquid at room temperature. However, in
H2S since the size of sulphur is large andthe electronegativity difference is not so much
and hydrogen bonding is absent. Therefore, it is gas at a room temperature.
Ques: Give reasons for the following:
a) Aqueous solution of ammonia is slightly basic. b) The bond angle in PH4+ higher than in PH3.
c) Axial bonds in PCl5 longer than equatorial bonds.
(3
Marks)
Ans: a) N in NH3 has a lone pair of electrons that can be donated to form linkage with the metal
ions and hence NH3 acts as Lewis base.
b) Lone pair of electronsare not present in PH4+ but in PH3,theseare present and repel the bonds,
giving a smaller bond angle.
c) Axial bonds are longer than equatorial bonds in PCl5 because of the higher repulsion
experienced by the axial bond pairs as three pairs of electrons repel them whereas only
two pairs of electronsatrracts the equatorial bonds.