Nos Dia
How do you determine if a molecule is para- or dia- magnetic?
I know that Para- means with unpaired electron and Dia- means with no paired electron. But if it asks you is NO a para- or a dia- magnetic molecule, how would you know?
Generally, molecular orbital theory is the best way to determine the paramagnetism or diamagnetism of a compound, but thats quite a long method (and a dicey one too!) so, u can consider this way.
You are aware that paramagnetism means atleast one unpaired electron in the system and diamagnetism means no unpaired electrons.
So, for compound, find the no of valence electrons for each atom. Let me consider NO.
For N valence e=5 and for 0 it is 6. 2 electrons of N pair up with 2 e of O. So, in O all electrons are paired up now, while in N, 3 electrons are left, out of which 2 form lone pair., leaving one e unpaired. this imparts paramagnetism to NO.
Although it may work for many, but some exceptions are also there for which you have to go back to molecular orbital theory.
