14. Lewis structure of NO2, nitrogen dioxide.

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1. Total number of valence electron from all the atoms in the molecule.

Wrong. Check the valence electron of N and O.
Correct. The total number of electron is 17
Wrong. Check the valence electron of N and O. .

2. Select the central atom:

Correct. Is the less electronegative atom. In this case N
Wrong. The central atom is the less electronegative atom.

3. How many electrons are used to form single bonds?:

Wrong. Two single bonds require more electrons.
Correct. Two single bonds require 4 electrons.

4. How many electrons are needed to complete the valence shell of the terminal atoms?.

Wrong. Four additional electrons to each terminal atom do not complete the octetos.
Wrong. Five additional electrons to each terminal atom do not complete the octetos.
Correct. Each O atom shares 2 electrons with N. Six more electrons will complete the octeto. Total 12

5. How many electrons are needed to complete the octeto of the central atom?

Wrong. The N atom shares four electrons with the oxygen atoms. Two more electrons do not complete the octeto.
Wrong. The N atom shares four electrons with the oxygen atoms. Three more electrons do not complete the octeto.
Correct. The N atom already shares four electrons with the oxygen atoms. Needs four more electrons to complete the octeto. However there is only one additional electron available that is added to N and at the same time N shares an electron pair from the oxygens to reach 7 electrons environment. Final structure

6. What property has NO2 due to its 7 electron environment?

Wrong. NO2 (O.E.=4) in water oxidizes to NO3-, (O.E.=5) and reduces to NO2-.
Correct. Two molecules of NO2 are bonded through the N atoms forming N2O4. This way N completes the octeto. Dimerization

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