If the central atom is of third row or below this in the periodic table, then lone pair will occupy a stereochemically inactive s-orbital and bonding will be through almost pure p-orbitals and bond an

Question

If the central atom is of third row or below this in the periodic table, then 
lone pair will occupy a stereochemically inactive s-orbital and bonding will be 
through almost pure p-orbitals and bond angles are nearly 90°, if the 
substituent's electronegativity value is $\le$ 2.5.

Prashant Kotian · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: C. Step 1: Identify that ortho-fluorophenol (I) exhibits strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding, which significantly decreases its capacity to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds, thereby lowering its boiling point. Step 2: For ortho-chlorophenol (II) and ortho-bromophenol (III), intramolecular hydrogen bonding is weak or negligible due to the larger size of Cl and Br. Therefore, their boiling points are primarily governed by van der Waals forces, which increase with molecular size and weight (III > II). Step 3: Consequently, the boiling point order is III > II > I, which matches option (b).

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