MCQEasyJEE 2026Covalent Bonding & Lewis Structures

JEE Chemistry 2026 Question with Solution

The correct increasing order of C-H\text{C-H} (AA), C-O\text{C-O} (BB), C=O\text{C=O} (CC) and C\equivN\text{C\equiv N} (DD) bonds in terms of covalent bond length is :

  • A

    A<D<C<BA < D < C < B

  • B

    A<B<C<DA < B < C < D

  • C

    D<C<B<AD < C < B < A

  • D

    D<C<A<BD < C < A < B

Answer

Correct answer:A

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: Bonds are C-H\text{C-H} (AA), C-O\text{C-O} (BB), C=O\text{C=O} (CC) and C\equivN\text{C\equiv N} (DD). We need the increasing order of covalent bond length.

Find: The correct order of bond lengths and the matching option.

Step 1: Understanding the concept Bond length depends on atomic radii and bond order. Higher bond order gives shorter bond length. Hydrogen is much smaller than carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, so C-H\text{C-H} is exceptionally short.

Step 2: Compare the approximate bond lengths

  • C-H\text{C-H} (AA) is about 109pm109 \, \text{pm}.
  • C\equivN\text{C\equiv N} (DD) is about 116pm116 \, \text{pm}.
  • C=O\text{C=O} (CC) is about 121pm121 \, \text{pm}.
  • C-O\text{C-O} (BB) is about 143pm143 \, \text{pm}.

So the increasing order is

A<D<C<BA < D < C < B

Conclude: Therefore, the correct order is A<D<C<BA < D < C < B, so the correct option is A.

Bond Order and Atomic Size Logic

Given: The four bonds are C-H\text{C-H}, C-O\text{C-O}, C=O\text{C=O}, and C\equivN\text{C\equiv N}.

Find: Their increasing order of covalent bond length.

For bonds involving similar-sized atoms, bond length decreases as bond order increases:

single bond>double bond>triple bond\text{single bond} > \text{double bond} > \text{triple bond}

Thus among C-O\text{C-O}, C=O\text{C=O}, and C\equivN\text{C\equiv N}, the expected order from longest to shortest is single, then double, then triple.

However, C-H\text{C-H} does not follow this comparison directly because hydrogen belongs to the first shell and has a very small atomic radius. That makes C-H\text{C-H} shorter than even some higher-order bonds involving larger atoms.

Hence the increasing order becomes

C-H<C\equivN<C=O<C-O\text{C-H} < \text{C\equiv N} < \text{C=O} < \text{C-O}

which means

A<D<C<BA < D < C < B

Conclude: The correct option is A.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming that every single bond must be longer than every multiple bond is incorrect. C-H\text{C-H} is a single bond, but hydrogen is very small, so this bond is shorter than C\equivN\text{C\equiv N}. Always consider both bond order and atomic size.

  • Comparing only bond order and ignoring the bonded atoms leads to error. While triple bonds are generally shorter than double and single bonds, the sizes of H, O, and N also affect the final bond length. Use both factors together.

  • Placing C-O\text{C-O} before C=O\text{C=O} is wrong because a double bond is shorter than the corresponding single bond between similar atoms. For carbon-oxygen bonds, C=O\text{C=O} is shorter than C-O\text{C-O}.

Practice more Covalent Bonding & Lewis Structures questions

Get unlimited AI-adaptive practice, mastery tracking, and an AI tutor that explains every step — free to start.

Related questions