Question

What are the relationship among bond order, bond energy and bond length? Which of these quantities can be measured?

Short answer

$$\begin{gathered} \text{Bond} \text{energy} \propto \text{Bond} \text{order} \\ \text{Bond} \text{length} \propto \frac{\text{1}}{\text{Bond} \text{order}}\propto \frac{\text{1}}{\text{Bond} \text{energy}} \end{gathered}$$

Step-by-step solution

Definition of bond order, bond energy and bond length

Bond length is the distance between the nucleus of two atoms.

Bond order is half the difference between bonding and anti-bonding electrons.

Bond energy is the amount of energy required to break or make a chemical bond.

Relation between  bond order, bond energy and bond length.

Bond order can be measured using the formula

$bond order = \frac{1}{2}(n_b-n_a)$

role="math" localid="1663742326754" $\begin{array}{rcl}{n}_b& =& noofbondingelectrons\\ n_a& =& numberofantibondingelectrons\end{array}$

Bond order is a measure of bond energy. Higher the bond order, greater will be the bond energy. Therefore, bond energy is directly proportional to bond order.

Bond length is inversely proportional to bond order and bond energy. Shorter the bond length, higher will be the bond order and higher will be the bond energy.

Step 3:

Bond length can be measured using X-ray diffraction.

Bond energy can be measured experimentally.