Position of nitrogen in Periodic table

Daniel Rutherford, a Scottish Physician, discovered nitrogen in 1772. But it was Lavoisier, who proved that nitrogen is an element and that it was not a supporter of combustion and respiration. He called it 'azote' meaning 'no life'. The name 'Nitrogen' was given to it by Jean Antoine Chaptal (1756 - 1832), in the year 1790.

Position of Nitrogen in the Periodic Table

Some Basic Features of Nitrogen

SymbolN
Atomic Number7
Electronic Configuration2,5
FormulaN2
Relative Atomic Mass14
Relative Molecular Mass28
Vapor Density14
Valency1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1. Position

Nitrogen is the first member of the group VA. Other members of this group are phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb) and bismuth (Bi).

2. Electronic configuration

Members of this group have five electrons in their valence shell.

3. Valency

The members of group VA generally show trivalent character but nitrogen shows more than one valency ranging from +1 to +5.

Example:

Oxide
of Nitrogen
N2O NO N2O3 NO2 N2O5
Name Nitrous Oxide Nitric Oxide Nitrogen Trioxide Nitrogen Dioxide Nitrogen Pentoxide
Valency +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

4. Metallic character

Nitrogen is a non-metal. The non-metallic character of the VA group decreases on going down the group:

5. Reactivity

Members of group VA form hydrides, halides and oxy-acids. For example:

Hydrides

Oxy-acids

Halides

6. Oxides

The oxides of VA group members are acidic in nature. The acidic nature of the oxides decreases as we move down the group.

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