valency

Question

The maximum valency shown by nitrogen is:

RankGuru · Accepted Answer

Nitrogen ($Z=7$) has the valence configuration $2s^2 2p^3$.
- It has 5 valence electrons, so it commonly shows an oxidation state of $+5$.
- However, its maximum **covalency** (number of shared electron pairs) is only **4**.
- **Reason**: Nitrogen belongs to the 2nd period and does NOT have vacant d-orbitals. It cannot expand its octet to accommodate more than 8 electrons.
- In ions like $NH_4^+$, it uses 3 covalent bonds and 1 coordinate bond, totaling 4 bonds.

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valency

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