Inorganic chemistryLesson 4 of 7 in the course Representative Metals, Metalloids, and Nonmetals

Elemental Nitrogen and Its Oxides: Properties, Preparation, and Reactions

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere and essential to living organisms, yet most organisms cannot use atmospheric nitrogen directly. This lesson explores where nitrogen occurs, why nitrogen gas is unusually unreactive, how some organisms make it biologically useful, and how people use elemental nitrogen.

The atmosphere is about 78% nitrogen by volume. This enormous natural supply makes air the major source of pure nitrogen. Most pure nitrogen is obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air, which separates substances according to their different boiling points.

All flashcards

Nitrogen fixation
Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into biologically useful nitrogen-containing chemicals.
Why is liquid nitrogen useful as a coolant?
Its very low boiling point lets it absorb heat as it vaporizes.
What happens to nitric oxide in liquid or solid form?
Two nitric oxide molecules can pair their unpaired electrons to form an N2O2N_2O_2 dimer.
Why is nitrogen dioxide paramagnetic?
Each NO2NO_2 molecule contains an unpaired electron, which is attracted to a magnetic field.
What makes nitrous oxide support combustion better than air?
When heated, it decomposes to nitrogen and oxygen; oxygen makes up one-third of the resulting gas.

Quiz questions

  1. When the equilibrium 2NO2(g)⇌N2O4(g)2NO_2(g) \rightleftharpoons N_2O_4(g) is cooled, which change is favored?Answer: Formation of more nearly colorless N2O4N_2O_4.
  2. Which acids form when nitrogen dioxide reacts with cold water?Answer: Nitrous acid and nitric acid.
  3. How is dinitrogen pentaoxide prepared?Answer: By dehydrating nitric acid with phosphorus(V) oxide.
  4. How can nitric oxide behave in oxidation-reduction reactions?Answer: It can act as either an oxidizing agent or a reducing agent.
  5. When nitrogen dioxide oxidizes carbon monoxide, what product forms from the nitrogen dioxide?Answer: Nitric oxide.

Based on Chemistry 2e by Paul Flowers, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley, William R. Robinson, PhD (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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