A certain AB4 molecule has a seesaw shape: From which of the fundamental geometries shown in Figure 9.3 could you remove one or more atoms to create a molecule having this seesaw shape? [Section 9.1]
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Textbook Solutions for Chemistry: The Central Science
Question
In this chapter we have seen a number of new concepts, including the delocalization of \(\pi\) systems of molecules and the molecular orbital description of molecular bonding. A connection between these concepts is provided by the field of organic dyes, molecules with delocalized \(\pi\) systems that have color. The color is due to the excitation of an electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital \((H O M O)\) to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital
\((L U M O)\). It is hypothesized that the energy gap between the \(H O M O\) and the \(L U M O\) depends on the length of the \(\pi\) system. Imagine that you are given samples of the following substances to test this hypothesis:
\(\beta-\text { carotene }\) is the substance chiefly responsible for the bright orange color of carrots. It is also an important nutrient for the body’s production of retinal (see the “Chemistry and Life” box in Section 9.6).
(a) What experiments could you design to determine the amount of energy needed to excite an electron from the \(\text { HOMO }\) to the \(\text { LUMO }\) in each of these molecules?
(b) How might you graph your data to determine whether a relationship exists between the length of the \(\pi\) system and the excitation energy?
(c) What additional molecules might you want to procure to further test the ideas developed here?
(d) How could you design an experiment to determine whether the delocalized \(\pi\) systems and not some other molecular features, such as molecular length or the presence of p bonds, are important in making the excitations occur in the visible portion of the spectrum? (Hint: You might want to test some additional molecules not shown here.)
Solution
The first step in solving 9 problem number trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: In this chapter we have seen a number of new concepts, including the delocalization of \(\pi\) systems of molecules and the molecular orbital description of molecular bonding. A connection between these concepts is provided by the field of organic dyes, molecules with delocalized \(\pi\) systems that have color. The color is due to the excitation of an electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital \((H O M O)\) to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital \((L U M O)\). It is hypothesized that the energy gap between the \(H O M O\) and the \(L U M O\) depends on the length of the \(\pi\) system. Imagine that you are given samples of the following substances to test this hypothesis:\(\beta-\text { carotene }\) is the substance chiefly responsible for the bright orange color of carrots. It is also an important nutrient for the body’s production of retinal (see the “Chemistry and Life” box in Section 9.6). (a) What experiments could you design to determine the amount of energy needed to excite an electron from the \(\text { HOMO }\) to the \(\text { LUMO }\) in each of these molecules? (b) How might you graph your data to determine whether a relationship exists between the length of the \(\pi\) system and the excitation energy? (c) What additional molecules might you want to procure to further test the ideas developed here? (d) How could you design an experiment to determine whether the delocalized \(\pi\) systems and not some other molecular features, such as molecular length or the presence of p bonds, are important in making the excitations occur in the visible portion of the spectrum? (Hint: You might want to test some additional molecules not shown here.)
From the textbook chapter Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.
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