Q 47 E - Chemistry (OpenStax)

Question

Sodium nitrite, which has been used to preserve bacon and other meats, is an ionic compound. Write the resonance forms of the nitrite ion, \({\rm{NO}}_{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ - }}\).

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The resonance forms of Nitrate Ion are –

Step 1: Concept Introduction

Resonance is used to ascertain delocalized electrons within molecules or polyatomic ions.

Step 2: Resonance form of Nitrate Ion

If possible, convert lone pairs to bonds and bonds to lone pairs while drawing resonance structures. One oxygen atom has three lone pairs (in the final shell) in the Lewis structure  \({\rm{NO}}_{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ - }}\)    ion, and that oxygen atom is joined to the nitrogen atom by a single bond.

Below are the resonance forms of \({\rm{NO}}_{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ - }}\) –

Therefore, the resonance forms of \({\rm{NO}}_{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ - }}\) are obtained.