Question 1

Which property of carbon allows it to form such a vast diversity of organic compounds?

Accepted Answer

Its ability to form four covalent bonds and bond with itself to create chains and rings

Question 2

What is the ground-state electron configuration of a carbon atom?

Accepted Answer

$1s^2 2s^2 2p^2$

Question 3

Which type of hybridization is present in the carbon atom of methane ($CH_4$)?

Accepted Answer

sp^3 hybridization

Question 4

What is the bond angle in a molecule where the central atom is sp^3 hybridized?

Accepted Answer

$109.5^\circ$

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the bonding in ethylene ($C_2H_4$)?

Accepted Answer

Each carbon forms three sigma bonds using sp^2 hybrid orbitals and one pi bond from unhybridized p orbitals

Question 6

A molecule of acetylene ($C_2H_2$) has which type of carbon hybridization and what is the bond angle between the atoms?

Accepted Answer

sp hybridization and $180^\circ$ bond angle

Question 7

Which statement about lone pairs is correct?

Accepted Answer

Lone pairs are valence electrons not used in bonding

Question 8

Given the condensed structure $CH_3OCH_3$ (dimethyl ether), how many lone pairs are present on the oxygen atom?

Accepted Answer

Two lone pairs

Question 9

Which orbital type is spherical and centered at the nucleus?

Accepted Answer

s orbital

Question 10

What is the main difference between a sigma ($\sigma$) bond and a pi ($\pi$) bond?

Accepted Answer

A $\sigma$ bond is formed by end-to-end overlap of orbitals, while a $\pi$ bond is formed by sideways overlap

Question 11

Which of the following molecules contains a carbon atom with sp^2 hybridization?

Accepted Answer

Ethylene ($C_2H_4$)

Question 12

How many electrons can occupy a single orbital?

Accepted Answer

Two electrons

Question 13

Which of the following is the correct electron configuration order according to the Aufbau principle?

Accepted Answer

$1s \rightarrow 2s \rightarrow 2p \rightarrow 3s \rightarrow 3p \rightarrow 4s \rightarrow 3d$

Question 14

In the skeletal structure of organic molecules, which atoms are usually not shown explicitly?

Accepted Answer

Carbon and hydrogen

Question 15

Which of the following best explains why noble gases are chemically inert?

Accepted Answer

They have a full outermost electron shell

Question 16

A carbon atom in formaldehyde ($CH_2O$) is:

Accepted Answer

sp^2 hybridized

Question 17

Which of the following statements about the structure of ethane ($C_2H_6$) is correct?

Accepted Answer

The C-C bond is formed by the overlap of two sp^3 hybrid orbitals

Question 18

Which molecule would have a linear geometry due to its hybridization?

Accepted Answer

Acetylene ($C_2H_2$)

Question 19

How many hydrogens are bonded to each carbon in propane ($C_3H_8$) at the terminal positions?

Accepted Answer

Three hydrogens

Question 20

Which of the following is a correct statement about the formation of covalent bonds in organic compounds?

Accepted Answer

Covalent bonds are formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms

Chapter 1: Structure and Bonding – Foundations of Organic Chemistry

Study Guide - Practice Questions