{"id":251804,"date":"2025-07-10T20:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=251804"},"modified":"2025-07-10T20:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:08:12","slug":"draw-the-lewis-structure-of-n-in-its-best-resonance-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/10\/draw-the-lewis-structure-of-n-in-its-best-resonance-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Draw the Lewis structure of N\u00a0in its best resonance form."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Draw the Lewis structure of N
in its best resonance form. This compound has three N atoms in a row (not in a triangle). Draw the Lewis structure by placing atoms on the grid and connecting them with bonds. Include all lone pairs of electrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chemical formula N\u2083\u207b represents the azide ion. To determine its best Lewis structure, we follow a systematic approach based on valence electrons and formal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we calculate the total number of valence electrons available for bonding. Each nitrogen atom (Group 15) contributes 5 valence electrons. The negative one charge on the ion indicates an additional electron. Therefore, the total count is (3 atoms \u00d7 5 electrons\/atom) + 1 electron = 16 valence electrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem specifies that the three nitrogen atoms are arranged in a row (N-N-N). After connecting them with single bonds, which uses 4 electrons, we are left with 12 electrons to distribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three possible resonance structures that satisfy the octet rule for all atoms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. A central nitrogen double-bonded to each terminal nitrogen: [:N\u0308=N=N\u0308:]\u207b<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A terminal nitrogen single-bonded to a central nitrogen which is triple-bonded to the other terminal nitrogen: [:N\u0308-N\u2261N:]\u207b<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The mirror image of the second structure: [:N\u2261N-N\u0308:]\u207b<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    To identify the “best” or most stable resonance form, we calculate the formal charge on each atom for all three structures. The formal charge is calculated as (Valence Electrons) – (Non-bonding Electrons) – (1\/2 Bonding Electrons). The most stable structure is the one that minimizes the magnitude of formal charges on the atoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. For [:N\u0308=N=N\u0308:]\u207b:<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Terminal N: 5 – 4 – \u00bd(4) = -1<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Central N: 5 – 0 – \u00bd(8) = +1<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Formal charges: (-1, +1, -1).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • For [:N\u2261N-N\u0308:]\u207b:<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Triple-bonded N: 5 – 2 – \u00bd(6) = 0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Central N: 5 – 0 – \u00bd(8) = +1<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Single-bonded N: 5 – 6 – \u00bd(2) = -2<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Formal charges: (0, +1, -2).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The third structure is simply a mirror of the second, with charges (-2, +1, 0).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Comparing these, the first structure, with formal charges of -1, +1, and -1, is the most stable. It distributes the charge more evenly and avoids a large formal charge of -2 on a single atom, which is highly unfavorable. Therefore, the structure with two double bonds is the best resonance form and the major contributor to the overall structure of the azide ion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Draw the Lewis structure of Nin its best resonance form. This compound has three N atoms in a row (not in a triangle). Draw the Lewis structure by placing atoms on the grid and connecting them with bonds. Include all lone pairs of electrons. The Correct Answer and Explanation is: The chemical formula N\u2083\u207b represents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}