In three to five sentences, predict the bonding activity between phosphorous and chlorine. Why do you think they would bond that way?

Question

(4 points)

Answer 1

Phosphorus and chlorine would most likely form a covalent bond. This is because both elements are nonmetals and tend to share electrons rather than transfer them. Phosphorus has five valence electrons and chlorine has seven, so they would need to share three electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration. This would result in the formation of a phosphorus trichloride molecule (PCl3).