Chemistry 9th Edition

Published by Cengage Learning
ISBN 10: 1133611095
ISBN 13: 978-1-13361-109-7

Chapter 8 - Bonding: General Concepts - Active Learning Questions - Page 404: 6

Answer

$NO_3^-$ has the greater bond lengths.

Work Step by Step

If you draw the lewis structure of $NO_3^-$, you will see that there is 1 NO double bond and 2 NO single bonds. Each oxygen atom on average has 1/3 of a double bond. If you draw the lewis structure of $NO_2^-$, you will see that there is 1 NO double bond and 1 NO single bond. Each oxygen atom on average has 1/2 of a double bond. Because double bonds tend to be shorter than single bonds, on average the bond lengths of $NO_3^-$ will be shorter.
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