Which description matches heterolytic fission?

• A. Bond breaks so that one electron goes to each atom
• B. Bond breaking so that both electrons go to the same atom
• C. Rotation about bond
• D. Electron pairs are shared equally

Answer: (B)

Heterolytic fission happens when a bond breaks and both electrons go to the same atom, producing ions. For example, when a polar bond like H–Cl breaks heterolytically, Cl takes both electrons to form Cl− and H becomes H+, giving ions. This contrasts with homolytic fission, where the bond breaks and each atom takes one electron, forming two radicals. The idea of rotation about a bond isn’t about breaking the bond, and sharing electrons equally describes a nonpolar covalent situation, not how a bond cleaves.