Question

Explain why:

(1) Nitrogen does not form pentahalides.

(2) Helium is used for filling weather balloons.

(3) ICl is more reactive than I₂.

Answer 1

(1) Nitrogen does not form pentahalides because it has no vacant d-orbitals in its valence shell.

(2) This is because it is lighter than air.

(3) This is because ICl is polar and has lower bond energy than I₂ (non-polar)