Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/paper-1/a5/a/iii/solution
Past exam of the chemistry A course of the University of Cambridge 2024 Paper 1 A5 a iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Ignoring ligand perturbations initially, end-on overlap gives the largest sigma bond splitting, side-on overlap gives the two pi bonds, and the two four-lobed overlaps give weaker delta bonds. A useful qualitative ordering isThe original diagram shows the ten orbitals, including both members of each level.
For the strictly isolated collinear metal pair, cylindrical symmetry makes and related by rotation, so the two delta bonding levels are degenerate, as are their antibonding partners. The displayed D4h molecular point group labels anticipate the ligand environment, which can split those different irreps. Symmetry supplies labels and degeneracies; the relative separation of unrelated levels is a qualitative overlap model, not a numerical prediction.
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