Question

Which of the choices below would be the result of the following reaction?

Image of a reaction shown with Lewis dot structures. Two nitrogens are about to bond. Each nitrogen has 5 valence electrons dots.
A. Image of a compound using Lewis dot structure. Two nitrogens are bonded with 2 dashes showing a double bond. Each nitrogen has three valence dots on them.
B. Image of a compound using Lewis dot structure. Two nitrogens are bonded with a dash showing a single bond. Each nitrogen has three valence dots on them.
C. Image of a compound using Lewis dot structure. Two nitrogens are bonded with 2 dashes showing a double bond. Each nitrogen has two valence dots on them.
D. Image of a compound using Lewis dot structure. Two nitrogens are bonded with 3 dashes showing a triple bond. Each nitrogen has two valence dots on them.

Answer 1

The result of the reaction involving two nitrogen atoms with five valence electrons each leads to the formation of a molecule with a triple bond between the nitrogens, each having a lone pair of electrons. The correct answer is D. Two nitrogens bonded with 3 dashes showing a triple bond and each nitrogen having two valence dots.

Step-by-step explanation:

When two nitrogen atoms, each with five valence electrons, come together to form a bond, they share their unpaired electrons to satisfy the octet rule. In this case, each nitrogen can share three pairs of electrons, resulting in a triple bond. Each nitrogen then ends up with five shared electrons (accounting for three bonds) and a pair of unpaired electrons as a lone pair.

This configuration satisfies the octet rule for both nitrogen atoms. Therefore, the correct choice would be the one depicting two nitrogens bonded with three dashes, indicating a triple bond, with each nitrogen also having a pair of dots representing the lone pair of electrons.

The answer is D. Two nitrogens bonded with 3 dashes showing a triple bond. Each nitrogen has two valence dots on them.