Q.Assertion : Generally alkali and alkaline earth metals form superoxides.
Reason : There is a single bond between O and O in superoxides.
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Both statements are false — superoxide formation is not a general property of alkali and alkaline earth metals, and the O–O bond in a superoxide is not a single bond (its bond order is 1.5).
Assertion — "Generally alkali and alkaline earth metals form superoxides": This is false. On reacting with oxygen, the lighter alkali metals form normal oxides (Li2O) or peroxides (Na2O2); only the heavier alkali metals — potassium, rubidium and caesium — form superoxides (KO2, RbO2, CsO2). Alkaline earth metals generally form normal oxides and, for the heavier ones, peroxides (e.g. BaO2), but not superoxides as a general rule. So superoxide formation is NOT a general property of these two families. …
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