Question

what property is the polar covalent compound so₂ likely to exhibit? strong electrolyte brittleness in the solid phase electrical conductivity high melting point

Explanation:

• Strong electrolyte: \(SO_2\) is a polar covalent compound. When \(SO_2\) dissolves in water, it forms \(H_2SO_3\) (sulfurous acid), which is a weak acid. Weak acids are weak electrolytes (they do not completely dissociate in solution), so \(SO_2\) is not a strong electrolyte.
• Brittleness in the solid phase: Polar covalent compounds often form molecular solids. In molecular solids, the intermolecular forces (such as dipole - dipole forces in the case of \(SO_2\)) are relatively weak. Molecular solids are typically brittle. For example, \(SO_2\) in the solid phase (solid \(SO_2\) is a molecular solid) will be brittle because the weak intermolecular forces can be easily disrupted, causing the solid to break.
• Electrical conductivity: For a substance to conduct electricity, it needs to have mobile charge carriers (either ions or electrons). In \(SO_2\), there are no free - moving ions in the pure compound (it is a covalent compound) and no delocalized electrons (unlike metals or some network covalent solids like graphite). When \(SO_2\) dissolves in water, the resulting solution (due to the formation of \(H_2SO_3\)) has a small number of ions (because \(H_2SO_3\) is a weak acid and only partially dissociates), but the pure \(SO_2\) compound does not conduct electricity.
• High melting point: High melting points are characteristic of ionic solids (due to strong electrostatic forces between ions) or network covalent solids (due to strong covalent bonds throughout the lattice). Polar covalent compounds like \(SO_2\) form molecular solids. The intermolecular forces (dipole - dipole forces for \(SO_2\)) are much weaker than ionic or covalent bonds in ionic or network covalent solids. So, \(SO_2\) has a relatively low melting point.

Answer:

Brittleness in the solid phase