Asked by jordan

Which compound is an exception to the octet rule?
H2O
HCl
CCl4
ClF3

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
ClF3.

Reason: chlorine (a period‑3 element) can have an expanded octet. In ClF3 the Cl has 3 bonding pairs + 2 lone pairs = 5 electron pairs (10 electrons) around it, so it violates the octet rule.