Question

Write anomalous behaviour of oxygen with respect to the nature of hydrides.

Answer 1

• Oxygen forms water (H₂O), which is a liquid at room temperature due to strong hydrogen bonding.
• Other chalcogens form hydrides like H₂S, H₂Se, and H₂Te, which are gases because they do not exhibit significant hydrogen bonding.
• Boiling point trend: H₂O > H₂Te > H₂Se > H₂S (due to strong H-bonding in water).