Question #b0f4b

1 Answer
Mar 22, 2017

This question is a "non sequitur". Water is a molecule, not an element.

Explanation:

What the question probably asked was which "group of hydrides" were most similar to H_2O, and the answer of course is the congeneric Group 16 hydrides: OH_2, SH_2, SeH_2, TeH_2. The lower hydrides have similar properties to those of water: they have some degree of hydrogen bonding, tho this is much less in magnitude. The lower hydrides are all room temperature gases due to the reduction in intermolecular force. You probably know H_2S smells foul; H_2Se, and H_2Te smells like a dead dog; these gases are highly poisonous as well.