Discussion
Which of the following statements are correct about the PCl5 molecule?
(i) It has trigonal bipyramidal geometry.
(ii) It has three equatorial and two axial bonds.
(iii) The equatorial bond pairs suffer more repulsive interaction from the axial bond pair.
(iv) The equatorial bonds are slightly weaker than axial bonds.
(v) The hybridization involved in the molecule is sp3d.
Answer: E
The correct statements are (i), (ii) and (v), so the answer is (i), (ii), (v).
In PCl5 the phosphorus uses sp3d hybrid orbitals (v), giving a trigonal bipyramidal shape (i) with three equatorial and two axial P-Cl bonds (ii).
Statements (iii) and (iv) are reversed. It is the axial bond pairs that suffer more repulsion, since each has three bond pairs at 90°, while an equatorial pair has only two. As a result the axial bonds are slightly longer and weaker than the equatorial bonds, not the other way round.
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