Given below are two statements: Statement (I) : Experimentally determined oxygen-oxygen bond lengths in the O₃$\mathrm{O}_{3}$ are found to be same and the bond length is greater than that of a O=O$\mathrm{O=O}$ (double bond) but less than that of a single (O-O)$(\mathrm{O-O})$ bond. Statement (II) : The strong lone pair-lone pair repulsion between oxygen atoms is solely responsible for the fact that the bond length in ozone is smaller than that of a double bond (O=O)$(\mathrm{O=O})$ but more than that of a single bond (O-O)$(\mathrm{O-O})$. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Core Logic

Analysis of Statement I: Ozone (O₃$\mathrm{O}_3$) exhibits resonance. The two major canonical forms contribute equally to the resonance hybrid, meaning both oxygen-oxygen bonds are identical. Their bond order is 1.5$1.5$, making the bond length intermediate between a true single bond and a true double bond. Thus, Statement I is completely true.

Analysis of Statement II: Statement II claims that lone pair-lone pair repulsion is solely responsible for this intermediate bond length. This is incorrect. The intermediate bond parameter is fundamentally a direct consequence of resonance delocalization, not lone-pair repulsions. Thus, Statement II is false.

Pattern Recognition

Whenever a molecule has identical intermediate bond lengths instead of distinct single and double bonds, resonance delocalization is almost always the core underlying reason.

Chapter Mix

Class 11 Chemistry: Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure