Chapter 9, Problem 9PE

Practice Exercise 9.9

Use the principles of VB theory to explain the bonding in $\text{HCl}\text{.}$

Give the orbital diagram for chlorine in the Hcl molecule and indicate the orbital that shares the electron with one from hydrogen. Sketch the orbital overlap that gives rise to the H—Cl bond. (Hint: Remember that a half-filled orbital on each atom is required to form the covalent bond.)