0 votes
28 views
in Chemical bonding by (138k points)
What is the formal charge on the carbon atom and the nitrogen atom in the molecule NH₄⁺? Show your calculations and explain how you arrived at your answer using the formula for calculating formal charge.

1 Answer

0 votes
by (138k points)
There is no carbon atom in the NH molecule, so we will only calculate the formal charge for the nitrogen atom.The formula for calculating the formal charge is:Formal Charge =  Valence Electrons  -  Non-bonding Electrons  - 0.5 *  Bonding Electrons For the nitrogen atom in NH:1. Valence Electrons: Nitrogen belongs to Group 15, so it has 5 valence electrons.2. Non-bonding Electrons: In NH, nitrogen is bonded to four hydrogen atoms, so it has no non-bonding electrons  lone pairs .3. Bonding Electrons: Nitrogen forms a single bond with each of the four hydrogen atoms. Each single bond has 2 electrons, so there are a total of 4 * 2 = 8 bonding electrons.Now, we can calculate the formal charge on the nitrogen atom:Formal Charge =  5  -  0  - 0.5 *  8 Formal Charge = 5 - 0 - 4Formal Charge = +1So, the formal charge on the nitrogen atom in the NH molecule is +1.
Welcome to Sarvan Science Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community.
...