Which of the following is correct?

Options

A. van der waals radius of chlorine is bigger than nitrogen.
B. covalent radius of nitrogen is bigger than chlorine
C. van der waals radius of chlorine is smaller than nitrogen
D. All are correct

Answer

To solve the question, we need to analyze the statements regarding the Van der Waals radius and covalent radius of chlorine and nitrogen. Let's go through the statements one by one.

### Step 1: Understanding Van der Waals Radius and Covalent Radius
- **Covalent Radius**: This is half the distance between the nuclei of two bonded atoms in a molecule. It is associated with the bonding between two atoms.
- **Van der Waals Radius**: This is half the distance between the closest approach of two non-bonded atoms in adjacent molecules. It is not associated with bonding.

### Step 2: Analyzing the Statements
1. **Statement A**: Van der Waals radius of chlorine is bigger than nitrogen.
- The Van der Waals radius of chlorine (Cl) is approximately 0.18 nm, while that of nitrogen (N) is approximately 0.15 nm. Therefore, this statement is **correct**.

2. **Statement B**: Covalent radius of nitrogen is bigger than chlorine.
- The covalent radius of chlorine is approximately 0.99 nm, while that of nitrogen is approximately 0.75 nm. Therefore, this statement is **incorrect**.

3. **Statement C**: Van der Waals radius of chlorine is smaller than nitrogen.
- As established earlier, the Van der Waals radius of chlorine is 0.18 nm, which is larger than that of nitrogen (0.15 nm). Therefore, this statement is **incorrect**.

4. **Statement D**: All are correct.
- Since not all statements are correct (specifically, B and C are incorrect), this statement is also **incorrect**.

### Step 3: Conclusion
Based on the analysis:
- The only correct statement is **Statement A**: Van der Waals radius of chlorine is bigger than nitrogen.

### Final Answer
The correct statement is: **A. Van der Waals radius of chlorine is bigger than nitrogen.**

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