Question

Hydrazine, N2H4, is a colorless, oily liquid that fumes in air and has an odor much like that of ammonia. It is used as a rocket fuel. The order of its atoms is H2NNH2. How many unshared pairs of electrons are on each nitrogen atom?

Answer 1

Answer:

1 unshared pair of electrons

Explanation:

In order to draw the Lewis structure, we need to consider the octet rule: atoms tend to share electrons to complete their valence shell with 8 electrons. In the case of H, it has to complete a duet (2 valence electrons).

N has 5 valence electrons, so it has to share 3 pairs of electrons to reach the octet.

H has 1 valence electron, so it has to share 1 pair of electrons to reach the duet.

In the picture, we can see the resulting Lewis structure. There is 1 unshared pair of electrons on each nitrogen.