Which of the following pairs of species have identical bond orders but differ in their magnetic behaviour (one is diamagnetic and the other is paramagnetic)?

Step-by-step solution

Let us evaluate the bond order and magnetic nature for each pair: For C ₂ (12 electrons): The molecular orbital configuration is 1s² ^ * 1s² 2s² ^ * 2s² 2p_ x ² = 2p_ y ² . Bond order = 8 - 4 2 = 2 . It has no unpaired electrons, so it is diamagnetic. For O ₂ (16 electrons): The configuration has two unpaired electrons in the ^ * 2p orbitals. Bond order = 2 . It is paramagnetic. For N ₂ and NO ⁺ (14 electrons each): Both have a bond order of 3 and are diamagnetic. For O ₂⁺ and N ₂⁻ (15 electrons each): Both have a