Question

Many free radicals combine to form molecules that do not contain any unpaired electrons. The driving force for the radical–radical combination reaction is the formation of a new electron‑pair bond. Consider the chemical equation. N ( g ) + NO ( g ) ⟶ NNO ( g ) Write Lewis formulas for the reactant and product species in the chemical equation. Include nonbonding electrons.

Answer 1

The question asks for Lewis formulas for the reactants and product involved in the reaction of atomic nitrogen and nitric oxide. The Lewis structure for atomic nitrogen is :N. with an unpaired electron, and for nitric oxide, it is :N=O. with an unpaired electron. The product NNO's Lewis structure is :N=N-O:, with all electrons paired.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the combination of free radicals to form a stable molecule without any unpaired electrons. Specifically, the question asks for the Lewis formulas for the reactants and products in the reaction N (g) + NO (g) → NNO (g), including nonbonding electrons.

For the reactants, we have atomic nitrogen (N), which has five valence electrons. As a radical, it would be represented as :
N
. (the dot representing an unpaired electron). Nitric oxide (NO), as an odd-electron molecule, has a total of 11 valence electrons, and its Lewis structure can be represented as :
N=O
., showing a double bond between nitrogen and oxygen and one unpaired electron on nitrogen.

The product NNO is a molecule where both nitrogen atoms are bonded to the central oxygen atom. To achieve a stable configuration, a reasonable Lewis structure would be :
N=N-O
: with a double bond between the two nitrogen atoms and a single bond between the second nitrogen and oxygen. All electrons are now paired, reflecting the stability of the NNO molecule.

Answer 2

The attached figure is the Lewis structure for the reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Lewis structure is a structure of the molecule in which valence electrons are represented as points that are located between the atoms that are linked, such that a pair of points means a simple covalent bond (line). The points representing non-bond electrons are placed adjacent to the atoms to which they are associated.