How Do Orbital Interactions Vary in Different A2 Molecules?

[Chemist20]

Homework Statement

How would you expect the interaction to compare in the following situations, all of which occur in a A2 molecule.
1) interaction of two 1s Aos in H2
2)interaction of two 1s Aos in N2
3)interaction of a 2s and a 2px AO
4)interaction of two 3s in O2.

The Attempt at a Solution

2)1s orbitals are way too contracted. poor interaction
3)hardly any interaction due to different symmetry
1)good interaction
4)3s are too expanded to have a good interaction

So what's the order? I'm guessing:
1>4>2>3

or perhaps 1>2>4>3 ?

 

[nate808]

I would expect the interaction to follow the order of increasing orbital overlap. This means that the interaction between two 1s AOs in H2 would be the strongest, followed by the interaction between two 1s AOs in N2, then the interaction between a 2s and a 2px AO, and finally the interaction between two 3s AOs in O2. This is because the 1s orbitals are smaller and more contracted, allowing for better overlap and stronger interaction, while the 3s orbitals are larger and more expanded, leading to weaker interaction. Additionally, the interaction between two 1s AOs would be stronger than the interaction between a 2s and a 2px AO because the 1s orbitals have the same symmetry, while the 2s and 2px orbitals have different symmetries. Therefore, the correct order would be 1>2>4>3.