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The bond angles of CH4, H2O and NH3 are in the order:A H2O > CH4 > NH3 B CH4 > NH3 > H2O C NH3 > H2O > CH4 D H2O = CH4 = NH3

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Solution

The bond angles of molecules are determined by the shape of the molecule, which is in turn determined by the number of bonding and non-bonding electron pairs in the molecule's electron cloud.

  1. CH4 (Methane): Methane is a tetrahedral molecule, with all four hydrogen atoms forming bonds with the central carbon atom at an angle of 109.5 degrees. This is because the four bonding electron pairs want to be as far apart from each other as possible, to minimize repulsion.

  2. H2O (Water): Water is a bent molecule, with two hydrogen atoms and two lone pairs of electrons around the central oxygen atom. The bond angle in water is less than the tetrahedral angle (104.5 degrees) because the lone pairs of electrons take up more space than the bonding pairs, pushing the hydrogen atoms closer together.

  3. NH3 (Ammonia): Ammonia is a trigonal pyramidal molecule, with three hydrogen atoms and one lone pair of electrons around the central nitrogen atom. The bond angle in ammonia is also less than the tetrahedral angle (107.3 degrees), for the same reason as in water.

So, the correct order of bond angles from largest to smallest is CH4 > NH3 > H2O, which corresponds to option B.

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