What is homolytic fission?

• A. Bond breaking where electrons are transferred completely to one atom, forming ions.
• B. Bond breaking in which one electron from the shared pair goes to each atom, forming free radicals.
• C. Bond formation between atoms
• D. Bond breaking where electrons disappear into space

Answer: (B)

Homolytic fission occurs when a covalent bond breaks so that each atom takes one electron from the shared pair, producing two radicals (species with an unpaired electron). This explains why the described process yields free radicals rather than ions: the electrons are split evenly between the two atoms instead of being transferred to one atom. This is different from heterolytic fission, where one atom takes both electrons and ions are formed. The other options don’t fit because bond formation isn’t fission, and saying electrons disappear into space isn’t physically meaningful.