I got a question

Blue.whispers · Probably a bot. Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 1

woah this site is soo helpfull soo far, even though your guys's science is sooo much higher than mine (im only in gr 10 Honors ... still gr 10... <.<)
but i have one question that i can't really answer my self:
Why in the decomposition of NO2 it ends up with NO + O2 and not N +O2

sorry but, i don't know how to do the subscripts Sad

Thanks in advance!

adrian · Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 4:29 pm Post subject:

usually, when we are studying chemistry, we try to explain why the nature does what it want. we just explain some reactions and try to make extensions to predict similar phenomena. until now, that's maximum...

kmialky · Probably a bot. Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

Props to you for asking a real chemistry question instead of trying to get answers to assignments!

I think that we can do better than "that's the way it is in nature".

Keep in mind that reactions "naturally" go toward certain conditions - lower energy, greater entropy, etc. That is part of it. Somehow NO provides lower energy that is more stable or greater entropy. I am guessing that it is lower energy. If you think about it, oxygen has a greater electronegativity than nitrogen which means that it has a stronger attraction for electrons than nitrogen. It makes sense than some of the oxygen atoms would energetically prefer to share electrons with nitrogen than with another oxygen atom. The oxygen will be more stable since it will have the electrons more of the time and the nitrogen should be less stable but perhaps not enough to offset the gains made by the oxygen.

That's the best I can do. Anyone else got something?

mosara · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:39 pm Post subject:

well it is related to bond strength and some entropy factor
and by the way how can you imagine (N) alone !!
it's a redical NO
in nature no element (except innert ones) appear alone
we can have He,Ne but no O, N, they are atoms lacking eclectrons and must get complete set of elecrons