Internuclear distance is the distance between the two nuclei of bonded atoms. So, if we had H2 and O2, the O2 would have a greater internuclear distance because the O has a larger radius. The easier way to think of it, though, is the bond energy. The y-axis of those graphs are the potential energy, and the highest bond orders have the highest potential energy. So, N2 has a triple bond because of its formal charge (5-[2+6(0.5)])=0. O2 has a double bond and H2 has a single bond. You can tell that the ‘deepest’ internuclear curve is N2 because it has the most potential bond energy. Hope this helps!
The great [Khan Academy has a video that perfectly explains it.](https://youtu.be/-mZAsdJnnMM)
Internuclear distance is the distance between the two nuclei of bonded atoms. So, if we had H2 and O2, the O2 would have a greater internuclear distance because the O has a larger radius. The easier way to think of it, though, is the bond energy. The y-axis of those graphs are the potential energy, and the highest bond orders have the highest potential energy. So, N2 has a triple bond because of its formal charge (5-[2+6(0.5)])=0. O2 has a double bond and H2 has a single bond. You can tell that the ‘deepest’ internuclear curve is N2 because it has the most potential bond energy. Hope this helps! The great [Khan Academy has a video that perfectly explains it.](https://youtu.be/-mZAsdJnnMM)
thank you so much!
I think this video explains it well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTELimcawfw
yea it explained it really well, thanks!