Question icon
11 grade chemistry others

How many electrons are unpaired in the orbital of nitrogen?

Profile image of Aniket Singh
10 Months agoGrade
Answers icon

1 Answer

Profile image of Askiitians Tutor Team
ApprovedApproved Tutor Answer10 Months ago

Nitrogen has an atomic number of 7, which means it has 7 electrons. These electrons are arranged in orbitals according to the principles of quantum mechanics.

Electron Configuration of Nitrogen

The electron configuration for nitrogen is 1s² 2s² 2p³. This means:

  • 2 electrons fill the 1s orbital.
  • 2 electrons fill the 2s orbital.
  • 3 electrons occupy the 2p orbitals.

Unpaired Electrons in Nitrogen

In the 2p subshell, there are three electrons. According to Hund's rule, these electrons will occupy separate orbitals before pairing up. Therefore, all three of these electrons remain unpaired.

Final Count

In total, nitrogen has three unpaired electrons in its 2p orbitals.