Enter the number of electrons in bonding MO and the number of electrons in anti-bonding MO to determine the bond order.

Bond Order Formula

The following formula is used to calculate a bond order. 

BO = ( EA- EB) / 2
  • Where BO is the bond order
  • EA is the number of electrons in the antibonding MO
  • EB is the number of electrons in the bonding MO

To calculate the bond order, subtract the number of electrons in the bonding MO from the number in the antibonding MO, then divide by 2.

Bond Order Definition

Bond order is defined as the number of bonded electron pairs between two bonded atoms.

Bond Order Example

How to calculate bond order?

  1. First, determine the number of electrons in the bonding molecule.

    For this example we will say there are 3.

  2. Next, determine the number of electrons in the anti-bonding molecule.

    For this example we will assume there are 1 electrons.

  3. Finally, calculate the bond order.

    Using the formula we can see the bond order is (1-3/2) = -1 bond order.

FAQ

What is a bond order?

A bond order is the number of bonded electron pairs between two atoms. Based on the formula it’s defined as the average of the difference between the number of bonding and anti-bonding electrons.

bond order calculator
bond order formula