Give one example of a Triatomic molecule

Answer: A triatomic molecule is a molecule made of three atoms, which can be same or different. A good example is carbon dioxide (CO₂). It has one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Another example is ozone (O₃), which has three oxygen atoms. The number of atoms in a molecule is called its atomicity, so the atomicity of a triatomic molecule is three. The shape of the molecule depends on lone pairs of electrons—CO₂ is linear with zero dipole moment, while H₂O (water) is bent and has a dipole moment of 1.85 D.

Complete Answer:

A triatomic molecule is a molecule that contains three atoms in total. These three atoms can be of the same kind (like O₃ – ozone) or of different kinds (like CO₂ – carbon dioxide or H₂O – water). The term “tri” means three, so “triatomic” simply refers to any molecule that is made up of three atoms.

Here are some examples of triatomic molecules:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) – 1 carbon atom + 2 oxygen atoms
• Ozone (O₃) – 3 oxygen atoms
• Water (H₂O) – 2 hydrogen atoms + 1 oxygen atom

The atoms in a triatomic molecule are joined by chemical bonds, and the shape of the molecule depends on the lone pairs of electrons on the central atom:

• In water (H₂O), the oxygen atom has two lone pairs of electrons, so the shape of the molecule is bent, and it has a dipole moment of 1.85 D (which means it has partial positive and negative ends).
• In carbon dioxide (CO₂), the carbon is in the center and has no lone pairs, so the molecule has a linear shape and a zero dipole moment, meaning it is electrically balanced.

The atomicity of a molecule means the number of atoms present in it:

• For triatomic molecules like CO₂, H₂O, and O₃, the atomicity is three.
• For diatomic molecules like O₂ or N₂, the atomicity is two because they contain only two atoms.

So, in summary, a triatomic molecule is made up of three atoms, which may or may not be the same. The shape and properties of such molecules depend on how these atoms are arranged and whether lone pairs are present.

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