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Chapter 8: Problem 33

Using Lewis symbols and Lewis structures, make a sketch of the formation of \(\mathrm{NCl}_{3}\) from \(\mathrm{N}\) and \(\mathrm{Cl}\) atoms, showing valence- shell electrons. (a) How many valence electrons does N have initially? (b) How many bonds Cl has to make in order to achieve an octet? (c) How many valence electrons surround the \(\mathrm{N}\) in the \(\mathrm{NCl}_{3}\) molecule? (d) How many valence electrons surround each Cl in the \(\mathrm{NCl}_{3}\) molecule? (e) How many lone pairs of electrons are in the \(\mathrm{NCl}_{3}\) molecule?

Short Answer

Expert verified
(a) Nitrogen has an initial number of 5 valence electrons. (b) Each chlorine atom needs to create 1 bond to achieve an octet. (c) In the NCl₃ molecule, there are 6 valence electrons surrounding the nitrogen atom. (d) There are 8 valence electrons surrounding each chlorine atom in the NCl₃ molecule. (e) There are 10 lone pairs of electrons in the NCl₃ molecule.

Step by step solution

01

(Drawing Lewis symbols for N and Cl atoms)

First, we need to draw the Lewis symbols for the nitrogen (N) and chlorine (Cl) atoms. To do this, we need to show the valence electrons of each atom around their corresponding symbols. Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons, while chlorine has 7 valence electrons. Nitrogen (N): \[\cdot N \cdot \] Chlorine (Cl): \[\odot Cl \ominus \]
02

(Drawing the Lewis structure for NCl₃ )

In the next step, we will draw the Lewis structure for NCl₃. We need to show how the nitrogen atom shares its valence electrons with three chlorine atoms to form three single (covalent) bonds. This is done by pairing one valence electron from N with one from each of the three Cl atoms: \[ \chemfig{ Cl% <- Atom 1 -[,1.5]@{bb1}N% <- Atom 2 (-[,1.5]<-:[:135]Cl)% <- Atom 3 (-[,1.5]<-[:45]Cl)% <- Atom 4 } \] Here, we can see that the nitrogen atom is connected to three chlorine atoms by single bonds. Now, we will proceed to answer each of the given questions:
03

(a) Number of valence electrons in the nitrogen atom initially)

As mentioned earlier, a nitrogen atom has 5 valence electrons initially.
04

(b) How many bonds Cl has to make in order to achieve an octet)

Each chlorine atom has 7 valence electrons initially. To achieve an octet (eight electrons in the outermost shell), each chlorine atom must form 1 bond with another atom, such as nitrogen in this case.
05

(c) Valence electrons surrounding N in the NCl₃ molecule)

In the NCl₃ molecule, the nitrogen atom forms three single bonds with the three chlorine atoms. Since each bond is formed by sharing a pair of electrons, there are a total of 6 valence electrons surrounding the nitrogen atom.
06

(d) Valence electrons surrounding each Cl in the NCl₃ molecule)

In the NCl₃ molecule, each chlorine atom forms a single bond with the nitrogen atom and also has 3 lone pairs of electrons. A single bond consists of 2 shared electrons, and each lone pair has 2 electrons. Hence, there are 2 (shared) + 2*3 (lone pairs) = 8 valence electrons surrounding each chlorine atom in the NCl₃ molecule.
07

(e) Number of lone pairs of electrons in the NCl₃ molecule)

In the NCl₃ molecule, the nitrogen atom has 1 lone pair of electrons, while each of the three chlorine atoms has 3 lone pairs of electrons. Thus, there are 1 + 3*3 = 10 lone pairs of electrons in the NCl₃ molecule.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(a) Construct a Lewis structure for \(\mathrm{O}_{2}\) in which each atom achieves an octet of electrons. (b) How many bonding electrons are in the structure? (c) Would you expect the \(\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{O}\) bond in \(\mathrm{O}_{2}\) to be shorter or longer than the \(\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{O}\) bond in compounds that contain an \(\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{O}\) single bond? Explain.

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