Which type of molecular orbital is higher in energy and less stable?

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Multiple Choice

Which type of molecular orbital is higher in energy and less stable?

In molecular orbital theory, antibonding orbitals result from out-of-phase overlap of atomic orbitals, which creates a node between the nuclei and reduces electron density in the bonding region. This destabilizes the electron distribution and raises the overall energy, so antibonding orbitals sit higher in energy than bonding ones. Bonding orbitals concentrate electron density between the nuclei, lowering energy and stabilizing the molecule, while nonbonding orbitals have energies similar to the original atomic orbitals and don’t contribute to bonding, and core orbitals are very deep in energy, far more stable. Thus, the highest-energy, least-stable type is the antibonding orbital.

In molecular orbital theory, antibonding orbitals result from out-of-phase overlap of atomic orbitals, which creates a node between the nuclei and reduces electron density in the bonding region. This destabilizes the electron distribution and raises the overall energy, so antibonding orbitals sit higher in energy than bonding ones. Bonding orbitals concentrate electron density between the nuclei, lowering energy and stabilizing the molecule, while nonbonding orbitals have energies similar to the original atomic orbitals and don’t contribute to bonding, and core orbitals are very deep in energy, far more stable. Thus, the highest-energy, least-stable type is the antibonding orbital.

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