Match each chlorine oxoacid listed on the left with its corresponding chlorine oxidation s… — JAMB UTME

Match each chlorine oxoacid listed on the left with its corresponding chlorine oxidation state and defining chemical characteristics on the right.

Hypochlorous acid ( $\text{HClO}$ )Chlorine oxidation state of $+1$ ; weak, unstable acid with significant bleaching and germicidal properties
Chlorous acid ( $\text{HClO}_2$ )Chlorine oxidation state of $+3$ ; unstable weak acid that forms dioxochlorate(III) salts
Chloric acid ( $\text{HClO}_3$ )Chlorine oxidation state of $+5$ ; strong acid that decomposes on heating and forms trioxochlorate(V) salts
Perchloric acid ( $\text{HClO}_4$ )Chlorine oxidation state of $+7$ ; strongest oxoacid of chlorine and an extremely powerful oxidizing agent

Answer

Hypochlorous acid (HClO) matches with oxidation state +1 and bleaching/germicidal properties; Chlorous acid (HClO2) matches with oxidation state +3 and dioxochlorate(III) salt formation; Chloric acid (HClO3) matches with oxidation state +5 and trioxochlorate(V) salt formation; Perchloric acid (HClO4) matches with oxidation state +7 and being the strongest oxoacid.

Each chlorine oxoacid is correctly paired based on the oxidation state of chlorine (ranging from +1 in hypochlorous acid to +7 in perchloric acid) and its associated chemical behavior, where acid strength and oxidizing power in concentrated form increase with increasing oxygen content.

Step-by-Step Solution

Calculate the oxidation number of chlorine in each oxoacid using standard oxidation states (H = +1, O = -2).

HClO: 1 + Cl + (-2) = 0 → Cl = +1. HClO2: 1 + Cl + 2(-2) = 0 → Cl = +3. HClO3: 1 + Cl + 3(-2) = 0 → Cl = +5. HClO4: 1 + Cl + 4(-2) = 0 → Cl = +7.

Determining oxidation states is the first step in differentiating chlorine oxoacids.

Correlate the oxidation states with acid strength trends in halogen oxoacids.

Acid strength increases as the number of oxygen atoms increases (HClO < HClO2 < HClO3 < HClO4). Thus, HClO4 is the strongest oxoacid.

Additional oxygen atoms pull electron density away from the O-H bond, weakening it and stabilizing the resulting oxoanion.

Pair each acid with its systematic IUPAC nomenclature and chemical properties.

HClO (+1) is hypochlorous acid (oxochlorate(I)), HClO2 (+3) is chlorous acid (dioxochlorate(III)), HClO3 (+5) is chloric acid (trioxochlorate(V)), and HClO4 (+7) is perchloric acid (tetraoxochlorate(VII)).

This establishes the exact matching pairs between left and right items.

Key Concept

Oxidation States and Acid Strength Trends of Chlorine Oxoacids

Estimated Time:2m 0s

Question

Answer

Step-by-Step Solution

Key Concept

Common Mistakes

Topics

More questions from this topic