An important reaction in the formation of photochemical smog is the photodissociation of NO : NO₂ + hv → NO(g) + O(g) The maximum wavelength of light that can cause this reaction is 420 nm. (b) What is the maximum strength of a bond, in kJ/mol, that can be broken by absorption of a photon of 420-nm light?

Verified step by step guidance

1. First, understand that the energy of a photon is related to its wavelength by the equation: E = \frac{hc}{\lambda}, where E is the energy, h is Planck's constant (6.626 \times 10^{-34} \text{ J s}), c is the speed of light (3.00 \times 10^8 \text{ m/s}), and \lambda is the wavelength in meters.
2. Convert the given wavelength from nanometers to meters. Since 1 nm = 10^{-9} m, 420 nm is equivalent to 420 \times 10^{-9} m.
3. Substitute the values of h, c, and \lambda into the equation E = \frac{hc}{\lambda} to calculate the energy of a single photon in joules.
4. To find the energy in kJ/mol, first convert the energy of a single photon from joules to kilojoules by dividing by 1000. Then, multiply by Avogadro's number (6.022 \times 10^{23} \text{ mol}^{-1}) to convert the energy from per photon to per mole.
5. The result from the previous step gives the maximum bond strength in kJ/mol that can be broken by a photon of 420-nm light. This is because the energy of the photon must be at least equal to the bond energy to break the bond.