Step 1: Find bond orders using the formula Bond order =‌
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(number of bonding electrons - number of antibonding electrons) Bond order of O2−(17 electrons): =‌
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(10−7)=1.5 Bond order of O22− (18 electrons): =‌
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(10−8)=1.0 Bond order of O22+ ( 14 electrons): =‌
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(10−4)=3.0 Step 2: Add the bond orders for O2−and O22− The question says x is their sum. x=1.5+1.0=2.5 Step 3: Express the bond order of O22+ in terms of x We already found bond order of O22+ is 3.0 . We want to write 3.0 as a multiple of x : 3.0‌=k⋅x 3.0‌=k⋅2.5 k‌=‌