According to molecular orbital theory, how many bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals are formed from the combination of the valence atomic orbitals in methane (CH_4)?
A
2 bonding and 2 antibonding molecular orbitals
B
4 bonding and 4 antibonding molecular orbitals
C
6 bonding and 6 antibonding molecular orbitals
D
8 bonding and 8 antibonding molecular orbitals
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Identify the valence atomic orbitals involved in bonding for methane (CH_4). Carbon has 4 valence orbitals (one 2s and three 2p orbitals), and each hydrogen has one 1s orbital. Since there are 4 hydrogens, there are 4 hydrogen 1s orbitals.
Combine the atomic orbitals from the hydrogens to form symmetry-adapted linear combinations (SALCs) that match the symmetry of the carbon valence orbitals. This results in 4 group orbitals from the hydrogens that can interact with the 4 carbon valence orbitals.
According to molecular orbital theory, when atomic orbitals combine, each pair of interacting orbitals forms one bonding molecular orbital and one antibonding molecular orbital.
Since there are 4 pairs of orbitals combining (4 carbon orbitals and 4 hydrogen SALCs), the total number of molecular orbitals formed is 8, consisting of 4 bonding and 4 antibonding molecular orbitals.
Therefore, the number of bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals formed from the valence atomic orbitals in methane is 4 bonding and 4 antibonding molecular orbitals.