To determine the bond order of the CO molecule using molecular orbital theory, we first need to consider the atomic orbitals of the constituent atoms, carbon C and oxygen O .Carbon has an electron configuration of 1s 2s 2p, while oxygen has an electron configuration of 1s 2s 2p. The valence electrons of carbon and oxygen are in the 2s and 2p orbitals. In molecular orbital theory, these atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals.For diatomic molecules like CO, the 2s orbitals combine to form two molecular orbitals: 2s and * 2s . Similarly, the 2p orbitals combine to form six molecular orbitals: 2p , 2p , 2p , * 2p , * 2p , and * 2p .Now, we need to fill these molecular orbitals with the valence electrons of carbon and oxygen. Carbon has 4 valence electrons, and oxygen has 6 valence electrons, giving a total of 10 valence electrons.The molecular orbitals are filled in the following order:1. 2s - 2 electrons2. * 2s - 2 electrons3. 2p - 2 electrons4. 2p - 4 electrons two in each degenerate orbital The bond order can be calculated using the formula:Bond order = number of electrons in bonding orbitals - number of electrons in antibonding orbitals / 2In the CO molecule, there are 8 electrons in bonding orbitals 2 in 2s , 2 in 2p , and 4 in 2p and 2 electrons in antibonding orbitals 2 in * 2s . Therefore, the bond order is:Bond order = 8 - 2 / 2 = 6 / 2 = 3The bond order of the CO molecule is 3, which indicates a strong triple bond between the carbon and oxygen atoms. This high bond order suggests that the CO molecule is expected to be stable.