Bond order of `SO_(2)` is .

Options

A. `1.5`
B. `1.33`
C. `2.0`
D. `2.5`

Explanation

To find the bond order of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the Valence Electrons
Sulfur (S) has 6 valence electrons, and each oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons. Therefore, for SO₂:
- Total valence electrons = 6 (from S) + 2 × 6 (from 2 O) = 18 valence electrons.

### Step 2: Draw the Lewis Structure
We can start by placing sulfur in the center and arranging the two oxygen atoms around it.
1. Connect sulfur to each oxygen with a single bond (2 electrons per bond).
2. Distribute the remaining electrons to satisfy the octet rule for the oxygen atoms.

After distributing the electrons, we find that sulfur can form double bonds with each oxygen to satisfy the octet rule for all atoms.

### Step 3: Identify Resonating Structures
SO₂ has multiple resonance structures. The primary resonance structures can be:
1. One structure with double bonds between S and both O.
2. Another structure where one O has a double bond with S and the other O has a single bond with S, with a negative charge on the single-bonded O and a positive charge on S.
3. The reverse of the second structure, where the other O has a single bond with S.

### Step 4: Count the Total Bonds
In the resonance structures:
- Each double bond counts as 2 bonds.
- Each single bond counts as 1 bond.

From the primary resonance structure:
- 2 double bonds = 4 bonds.
From the other structures:
- 1 double bond + 1 single bond = 3 bonds (for each of the two structures).

### Step 5: Calculate the Bond Order
The bond order is calculated using the formula:
\[ \text{Bond Order} = \frac{\text{Total number of bonds}}{\text{Number of resonating structures}} \]

From our analysis:
- Total number of bonds = 4 (from the double bonds) + 3 (from the other structures) + 3 (from the reverse structures) = 10 bonds.
- Total number of resonating structures = 3.

Now, substituting into the formula:
\[ \text{Bond Order} = \frac{10}{3} \approx 3.33 \]

However, since we are considering the effective bond order based on the most stable resonance structures, we can simplify it to 2.

### Final Answer
The bond order of SO₂ is 2.

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