Which of the following pairs of species have the same bond order but different magnetic behaviour (one is diamagnetic and the other is paramagnetic)?

Step-by-step solution

According to Molecular Orbital Theory: For C ₂ (12 electrons): The electronic configuration is _ 1s ^2 _ 1s ^ *2 _ 2s ^2 _ 2s ^ *2 _ 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 electronic configuration is _ 1s ^2 _ 1s ^ *2 _ 2s ^2 _ 2s ^ *2 _ 2p_z ^2 _ 2p_x ^2 = _ 2p_y ^2 _ 2p_x ^ *1 = _ 2p_y ^ *1 . Bond order = 10 - 6 2 = 2 . It has 2 unpaired electrons, so it is paramagnetic. Thus, C ₂ and O ₂ have the same bond order (2) but dif