Select the incorrect statement(s): — p Block Elements Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Step 1: Check the hybridization and lone pairs of each species. SiO4^4- has sp3 hybridization with zero lone pairs, giving a regular tetrahedral bond angle of 109.5°. Step 2: NCl3 and PCl3 both have sp3 hybridization with one lone pair. Due to the high electronegativity of Nitrogen relative to Phosphorus, the bond angle in NCl3 (~107.1°) is larger than in PCl3 (~100°). SbH3 has a bond angle of ~91.3° (dominated by pure p-orbital bonding/Drago's rule), and H2Te has a bond angle close to 90°. Step 3: This establishes the decreasing bond angle order as SiO4^4- > NCl3 > PCl3 > SbH3 > H2Te, which matches option (b).