To calculate the bond order of the carbon monoxide CO molecule using molecular orbital theory, we need to first determine the electronic configuration of the molecule and then count the number of electrons in bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals.Carbon has 6 electrons and oxygen has 8 electrons. Therefore, the CO molecule has a total of 14 electrons. The molecular orbitals for a diatomic molecule like CO are arranged in the following order of increasing energy: 1s, *1s, 2s, *2s, 2px = 2py, 2pz, *2px = *2py, and *2pz.Now, let's fill the molecular orbitals with the 14 electrons, starting from the lowest energy level:1. 1s: 2 electrons2. *1s: 2 electrons3. 2s: 2 electrons4. *2s: 2 electrons5. 2px = 2py: 4 electrons 2 electrons in each orbital 6. 2pz: 2 electronsThe remaining orbitals *2px = *2py and *2pz are unoccupied.Now, let's calculate the bond order using the formula:Bond Order = Number of electrons in bonding orbitals - Number of electrons in antibonding orbitals / 2Bonding orbitals: 1s 2 electrons , 2s 2 electrons , 2px 2 electrons , 2py 2 electrons , and 2pz 2 electrons = 10 electronsAntibonding orbitals: *1s 2 electrons and *2s 2 electrons = 4 electronsBond Order = 10 - 4 / 2 = 6 / 2 = 3Therefore, the bond order of the carbon monoxide CO molecule is 3. This indicates a strong triple bond between the carbon and oxygen atoms.