Namma Kalvi

CLASS: XII www.nammakalvi.org SUBJECT: CHEMISTRY

2. p-BLOCK ELEMENTS-I

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

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Answer the following questions:

1. Write a short note on anomalous properties of the first element of p-block.

 Small size of the first member
 High ionisation enthalpy and high electronegativity
 Absence of d- orbitals in their valance shell
Example:
In group 14, the first element carbon is strictly a non-metal while other elements are metalloids (silicon &
germanium) or metals (tin & lead). The first element always differs from other elements of the same group is called
anomalous behavior.
2. Describe briefly allotropism in p- block elements with specific reference to carbon.
 Carbon exists in many allotropic forms. Graphite and diamond are the most common allotropes.
 Other important allotropes are graphene, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.
Graphite Diamond Fullerenes
Most stable allotropic form of carbon These allotropes are discrete
at normal temperature and pressure. molecules such as C32, C50, C60, C70,
It is soft and conducts electricity. Diamond is very hard. There is no C76 etc.
free electrons for conductivity. They have cage like structures.

Flat two dimensional sheets of carbon Carbon atom is sp2 hybridised

atoms is a hexagonal net of The tetrahedral arrangement
sp2 hybridised carbon atoms with a around each carbon atom in The C60 molecules have a soccer ball
C-C bond length of 1.41Å. diamond are sp3 hybridised. like structure and is called
C-C bond length of 1.54Å. buckminster fullerene or
buckyballs.
The successive carbon sheets are held It has a fused ring structure consists
together by weak van der Waals of 20 six membered rings and 12 five
forces. membered rings.
 Carbon nanotubes, another recently discovered allotropes, have graphite like tubes with fullerene
ends.
Along the axis, these nanotubes are stronger than steel and conduct electricity.
 Another allotrophic form of carbon is graphene. It has a single planar sheet of sp2 hybridised carbon
atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice.

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

3. Boron does not react directly with hydrogen. Suggest one method to prepare diborane from BF3.
Boron does not react directly with hydrogen. However, it forms a variety of hydrides called boranes. The simplest
borane is diborane - B2H6. Other larger boranes can be prepared from diborane. Treatment of gaseous boron trifluoride
with sodium hydride around 450 K gives diborane. To prevent subsequent pyrolysis, the product diborane is trapped
immediately.

4. Give the uses of Borax.

 Borax is used for the identification of coloured metal ions
 In the manufacture optical and borosilicate glass, enamels and glazes for pottery
 It is also used as a flux in metallurgy and also acts as a good preservative
5. What is catenation? Describe briefly the catenation property of carbon.
Catenation (self-bonding)
Catenation is an ability of an element to form chain of atoms.
Conditions for catenation:
 The valency of the element is ≥ 2
 The element should have an ability to bond with itself
 The self-bond must be as strong as its bond with other elements
 Kinetic inertness of catenated compound towards other molecules.
6. Write a note on Fisher tropsch synthesis.
The reaction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen at a pressure of less than 50 atm using metal catalysts at 500 -
700 K yields saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons.

7. Give the structure of CO and CO2.

Structure of CO Structure of CO2
1 It has a linear structure. Carbon dioxide has a liner structure with equal bond distance
for the both C-O bonds.
2 Three electron pairs are shared between There is one C-O sigma bond. In addition there is 3c-4e bond
carbon and oxygen. covering all the three atoms.
3 The bonding can be explained using The bonding cannot be explained using molecular orbital
molecular orbital theory theory
4 Resonance hybrid or canonical forms Resonance hybrid or canonical forms

8. Give the uses of silicones.

 Silicones are used for high temperature oil baths.
 They are used for making water proofing clothes.
 They are used as insulting material in electrical motor and other electrical appliances.
 They are mixed with paints and enamels to make them resistant towards high temperature, sunlight, dampness
and chemicals.

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

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9. AlCl3 behaves like a Lewis acid. Substantiate this statement.

 AlCl3 being electron deficient due to incomplete octet of central metal atom behave as Lewis acids.
 In AlCl3 it forms three bonds and hence outer shell has 6 electrons.
 Now Al needs two more electrons to complete its octet. So, it needs electron from outside and it exist in
dimer form and form bond with Cl atom and complete its octet.
 Furthermore, Al must access both its 2s and its three 2p orbitals to bond, so it uses sp3 hybridization
(one 2s and three 2p orbitals), giving it four bonding orbitals (one of which is empty as AlCl3). This
allows it to form a fourth bond and acquire a tetrahedral structure as AlCl−4.
 With one empty orbital and three electron-withdrawing Cl atoms attached, the compound is thus
an electron-acceptor at the Al center.
By definition those which accepts electrons are called Lewis acids. So AlCl3 is a Lewis acid.

 Example: Friedel-Crafts Acylation reaction shows the Lewis Acid behaviour of Al in AlCl3

10. Describe the structure of diborane.

In diborane two BH2 units are linked by two bridged hydrogens. Therefore, it has eight B-H bonds. However,
diborane has only 12 valance electrons and are not sufficient to form normal covalent bonds. The four terminal B-H
bonds are normal covalent bonds (2c-2e bond). The remaining four electrons have to be used for the bridged bonds.
Hence, these bonds are 3c-2e bonds. The bridging hydrogen atoms are in a plane.
In diborane, the boron is sp3 hybridised. Three of the four sp3 hybridised orbitals contains single electron and
the fourth orbital is empty. Two of the half-filled hybridised orbitals of each boron overlap with the two hydrogens to
form four terminal 2c-2e bonds, leaving one empty and one half filled hybridised orbitals on each boron.
The (3c- 2e bonds), B-H-B bond formation involves overlapping the half-filled hybridised orbital of one boron,
the empty hybridised orbital of the other boron and the half-filled 1s orbital of hydrogen.

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

11. Write a short note on hydroboration.

Diborane adds on to alkenes and alkynes in ether solvent at room temperature. This reaction is called
hydroboration and is highly used in synthetic organic chemistry, especially for anti Markovnikov addition.

12. Give one example for each of the following

(i) icosogens - Boron & Aluminium

(ii) tetragen – Carbon & Silicon

(iii) pnictogen – Nitrogen & Phosphorous

(iv) chalcogen – Oxygen & Sulphur

13. Write a note on metallic nature of p-block elements.

Metallic nature:

The tendency of an element to form a cation by losing electrons is known as electropositive or metallic character.

This character depends on the ionisation energy. Generally on descending a group the ionisation energy
decreases and hence the metallic character increases.

In p-block, the elements present in lower left part are metals while the elements in the upper right part are
non-metals.
Elements of group 13 have metallic character except the first element boron which is a metalloid, having
properties intermediate between the metal and nonmetals.
The atomic radius of boron is very small and it has relatively high nuclear charge.


Complete the following reactions

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

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15. How will you identify borate radical?

When boric acid is heated with ethyl alcohol in presence of conc. H2SO4, an ester, trialkyl borate is formed.

The vapour of this ester burns with a green edged flame and this reaction is used to identify the presence of borate.

16. Write a note on zeolites.

 Zeolites are three-dimensional crystalline solids containing aluminium, silicon, and oxygen in their regular

three dimensional framework.

 They are hydrated sodium alumino silicates with general formula NaO.(Al2O3).x(SiO2).yH2O

(x=2 to 10; y=2 to 6).

 Zeolites have porous structure in which the monovalent sodium ions and water molecules are loosely held.

 The Si and Al atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated with each other through shared oxygen atoms.

 Zeolites are similar to clay minerals but they differ in their crystalline structure.

 Zeolites have a 3D crystalline structure looks like a honeycomb consisting of a network of interconnected

tunnels and cages. Water molecules moves freely in and out of these pores but the zeolite framework remains

rigid. Another special aspect of this structure is that the pore/channel sizes are nearly uniform, allowing the

crystal to act as a molecular sieve. We know that the removal of permanent hardness of water using zeolites.

17. How will you convert boric acid to boron nitride?

Fusion of urea with B(OH)3, in an atmosphere of ammonia at 800 - 1200 K gives boron nitride.

Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM

18. A hydride of 2nd period alkali metal (A) on reaction with compound of Boron (B) to give a reducing agent (C).

Identify A, B and C.

Compound A Compound B Compound C

Lithium (Li) Diborane (B2H6) Lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH4)

19. A double salt which contains fourth period alkali metal (A) on heating at 500K gives (B). Aqueous solution of
(B) gives white precipitate with BaCl2 and gives a red colour compound with alizarin. Identify A and B.

(A) (B)

20. CO is a reducing agent. Justify with an example.

Carbon monoxide acts as a strong reducing agent.

Carbon monoxide thus has a relatively high tendency to be oxidised to form carbon dioxide. ... Its
reducing ability is utilised for example

Example: In the extraction of iron ore, haematite Fe2O3

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Dr.D.EZHILARASAN, PGT IN CHEMISTRY, NATIONAL HR.SEC. SCHOOL, TINDIVANAM