Which statement correctly explains, in terms of bonding and structure, why carbon dioxide (CO2\text{CO}_2CO2) acts as a greenhouse gas by absorbing infrared (IR) radiation, while nitrogen (N2\text{N}_2N2) does not?
CO2\text{CO}_2CO2 contains polar bonds and vibrates in ways that cause a change in its molecular dipole moment, whereas the vibration of the non-polar bond in N2\text{N}_2N2 causes no change in dipole moment.
CO2\text{CO}_2CO2 has a permanent dipole moment due to its linear structure, whereas N2\text{N}_2N2 has no dipole moment due to its triple bond.
Infrared radiation has high enough energy to break the double bonds in CO2\text{CO}_2CO2, but cannot break the stronger triple bond in N2\text{N}_2N2.
The symmetric stretching vibration of CO2\text{CO}_2CO2 creates a temporary dipole moment, making it IR active, while N2\text{N}_2N2 can only undergo asymmetric stretching.
31 exam-style questions on OCR A A Level Chemistry Bonding and structure. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.