NEET Practice Questions (MCQs) with Answers & Solutions

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) cannot be stored in glass bottles because it reacts with silicon dioxide ($SiO_2$), a major component of glass. The reaction between HF and $SiO_2$ produces silicon tetrafluoride ($SiF_4$) and water, thereby corroding the glass. Therefore, HF must be stored in plastic containers.

Iodine is not the strongest oxidizing halogen. Fluorine is actually the strongest oxidizing halogen due to its high electronegativity and small atomic radius, which allows it to attract electrons more effectively. Hence, the pair 'The Strongest oxidizing halogen - Iodine' is not correctly matched.

Fluorine (F) shows only one oxidation state, which is -1. This is because fluorine is the most electronegative element and cannot exhibit any positive oxidation states. It always gains one electron to complete its octet.

Among the given hydrogen halides, HCl has the lowest boiling point. This is because the boiling point increases with the increase in molecular weight and strength of van der Waals forces. HF has strong hydrogen bonding, so it has a higher boiling point, while HCl, being the lightest after HF, has the lowest boiling point among HCl, HBr, and HI.

The stronger oxidizing nature of fluorine compared to chlorine in aqueous solution is attributed to factors such as heat of dissociation, heat of hydration, and ionization potential. Electron affinity, however, does not play a significant role in this context as it pertains to the energy change when an electron is added to an isolated atom in the gaseous state.

Atomic size increases as you move down the group in the periodic table due to the addition of extra electron shells. Therefore, fluorine (F) is the smallest atom among the given options as it is at the top of the halogen group.

Electron affinity generally decreases as you move down the group in the periodic table. Therefore, iodine (I) has the lowest electron affinity, followed by bromine (Br), and chlorine (Cl) has the highest electron affinity among the three. Thus, the arrangement in order of increasing electron affinity is I, Br, Cl.