Chemistry question

Question

Which molecule has the greatest bond energy?

(A) H-Br

(B) H-F

(C) H-At

(D) H-CI

(E) H-I

could you explain which option is correct and why?

Answer 1

(B) H-F would have the greatest bond energy.

Explanation:

Bond energy is usually dependent on the bond length and the bond order. Since the bond order for all of the choices is 1 ( a single bond), we turn our attention to bond length. The shorter the bond length, the stronger the bond and the greater the bond energy. So we want to find the bond that is the shortest. All the choices are bonds between H and the different halogens of group 17. Fluorine is the smallest of all the halogens so the bond length between H and F will be the shortest and hence the strongest and thus will have the greatest bond energy.