Final answer:
The formal charge on Nitrogen in NO3⁻ is calculated by considering Nitrogen's valence electrons and the bonds it forms with Oxygen. No lone pair electrons are assigned to Nitrogen in the nitrate ion, leading to a formal charge of +1, which is answer D) +1.
Step-by-step explanation:
The formal charge on Nitrogen in NO3⁻ can be determined using the concept of formal charges in chemistry. Nitrogen normally has five valence electrons and in the case of the nitrate ion, it is bonded to three oxygen atoms. According to the Lewis structure, each oxygen atom forms a double bond with nitrogen, and there is one more electron present to give the nitrate ion its -1 charge. To calculate the formal charge on nitrogen, we take the number of valence electrons in a neutral nitrogen atom, subtract the number of electrons assigned to the nitrogen in the molecule (one for each bond plus lone pair electrons), and compare this to the overall charge of the ion.
In NO3⁻, each oxygen atom typically has a formal charge of 0, as they follow the octet rule comfortably. Therefore, assigning two electrons per bond to nitrogen and none for lone pairs, Nitrogen has a formal charge of +1 because it 'owns' 5 electrons (1 from each bond) but should have 6 (5 valence electrons and 1 additional to account for the -1 charge of the ion). Thus, the answer is D) +1.