Question

The lithium ion and the hydride ion are isoelectronic. Which of the following statements is true of these two chemical species in the ground state?
a. Li+ is a better reducing agent than H- .
b. The H- ion is several times larger than the Li+ ion.
c. It requires more energy to remove an electron from Hthan from Li+ .
d. The chemical properties of the two ions must be the same because they have the same electronic structure. e. None of these is a true statement.

Answer 1

"Option (a), (b), and (d)" are true

Explanation:

1. Li+ is a better reducing agent than H- because of the greater tendency of lithium-ion to lose an electron.
2. As anions are of larger size to that of cations so, the H- ion is several times larger than the Li+ ion.
3. As Li+ ion is already deficient in the electrons it requires more energy to remove an electron from Li+ ion than from hydride ion.
4. The chemical properties of the two ions must be the same because chemical properties depend on the valence shell configuration so they will have the same properties.

According to the above information, the options suited are (a), (b), and (d) and option (c) is not true for the given statement.