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title: "The potential energy curve and corresponding particulate models for two interacting hydrogen atoms are shown in the figure. Which of the following statements correctly identifies the dominant electrostatic force and explains the change in potential energy at point \\(W\\) compared to point \\(X\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123550/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T12:00:06+00:00"
---

# The potential energy curve and corresponding particulate models for two interacting hydrogen atoms are shown in the figure. Which of the following statements correctly identifies the dominant electrostatic force and explains the change in potential energy at point \(W\) compared to point \(X\)?

The potential energy curve and corresponding particulate models for two interacting hydrogen atoms are shown in the figure. Which of the following statements correctly identifies the dominant electrostatic force and explains the change in potential energy at point \(W\) compared to point \(X\)?

![A grayscale plot shows potential energy on the vertical axis and internuclear distance on the horizontal axis with no gridlines. A horizontal dashed reference line marks zero potential energy. A solid curve begins at high positive potential energy at small internuclear distance, drops steeply across zero to reach a minimum well at point X in the negative energy region, and rises smoothly toward zero at large distance. Four points are labeled along the curve: point W on the steep positive slope at short distance; point X at the minimum well; point Y on the shallow negative slope at intermediate distance; and point Z on the flat asymptotic plateau at large distance. Above each labeled point, a particulate representation depicts two spherical hydrogen atoms: at W, two open circular nuclei are very close with overlapping shaded electron clouds; at X, two nuclei are at equilibrium bonding distance with shared shaded electron cloud between them; at Y, two atoms are slightly separated; at Z, two atoms are widely separated with no cloud overlap. No other lines, labels, text, or annotations appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1790596806-bMs83I.jpg)

- **A.** At point \(W\), attractive forces between the two positively charged nuclei dominate because complete electron cloud overlap eliminates repulsive interactions, resulting in a system of higher potential energy.
- **B.** At point \(W\), attractive forces between the nuclei and electrons exceed repulsive forces, and the elevated potential energy is due to an increase in the average molecular kinetic energy of the system.
- **C.** At point \(W\), electrostatic attractive forces and repulsive forces remain equal in magnitude, but the potential energy is higher because the covalent bond between the atoms has been completely broken.
- **D.** At point \(W\), electrostatic repulsive forces between the positively charged nuclei exceed the attractive forces between the nuclei and electrons, resulting in a net repulsive force and a higher potential energy.

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