Given below are two statements: Statement I: For diatomic molecules such as B₂ , C₂ , and N₂ , the energy of the _ 2p_z molecular orbital is higher than that of the _ 2p_x and _ 2p_y molecular orbitals. Statement II: For diatomic molecules such as O₂ and F₂ , the energy of the _ 2p_z molecular orbital is lower than that of the _ 2p_x and _ 2p_y molecular orbitals. In the light of the above statements, choose the most

Step-by-step solution

For homonuclear diatomic molecules up to N₂ ( B₂ , C₂ , N₂ ), the energy difference between 2s and 2p orbitals is relatively small, leading to significant s-p mixing. This mixing pushes the energy of the _ 2p_z molecular orbital higher than that of the _ 2p_x and _ 2p_y molecular orbitals. The energy order is: _ 1s For diatomic molecules like O₂ and F₂ , the effective nuclear charge is higher, which increases the energy gap between the 2s and 2p orbitals. As a result, s-p mixing is negligible, and the _ 2p_z molecu