What is the difference between atomic oxygen and molecular oxygen?

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Hello everybody and welcome back. Our next question says. Which of the following accurately states the distinction between atomic and molecular nitrogen? A atomic nitrogen, single nitrogen atom, highly reactive, molecular nitrogen, 3 bonded nitrogen atoms, less reactive. B atomic nitrogen, single nitrogen atom, less reactive, molecular nitrogen, 2 bonded nitrogen atoms, highly reactive. See atomic nitrogen present in abundant amounts on Earth. Molecular nitrogen not commonly found on Earth. Or atomic nitrogen, single nitrogen atom, highly reactive, molecular nitrogen, 2 bonded nitrogen atoms, less reactive. So let's think about the nature of these two things. Atomic nitrogen would just be a single nitrogen atom. And that would have just its nucleus with its protons and neutrons, and 7 electrons. The valence electrons on nitrogen, there are 5 of them. So, this is a highly reactive species. You've got, you know, this incomplete outer shell, and you've got this single electron there. So this is highly reactive. So we can go ahead and rule out choice B, which is the atomic nitrogen is a single nitrogen atom that is less reactive, as that is not the case. And A and CD both say single nitrogen atom, highly reactive. So let's take a look and think about the structure of molecular nitrogen. So molecular nitrogen is going to be N2. So it'll be 2 bonded nitrogen atoms, so we can rule out choice A, since that says 3 bonded nitrogen atoms. And what does this structure look like? Is this reactive or not? Well, We kind of get a clue by the fact that it is too, it forms this molecular nitrogen, because that means it has, you know, it's more stable in this form. So it's 2 nitrogens bonded together, since each has 5 valence electrons, they form a triple bond, and then each has a lone pair. So that gets each of them a filled outer shell, and there there's no charge, they're neutral. So this is a pretty stable compound. So that points us to choice D. The atomic nitrogen is a single nitrogen atom, that's highly reactive. Molecular nitrogen is two bonded nitrogen atoms and less reactive. Why is choice C incorrect? Well, molecular nitrogen is very common. It's present in abundant amounts. Well, by definition, atomic nitrogen, just nitrogen atoms by itself, it's so reactive, it's not, there's not going to be a lot of it around. So nitrogen and various compounds are very common, but not atomic nitrogen. So again, the distinction between atomic and molecular nitrogen is choice D. Atomic nitrogen is a single nitrogen atom, that's highly reactive, while molecular nitrogen, 2, bonded nitrogen atoms, less reactive. See you in the next video.

What is the difference between atomic oxygen and molecular oxygen?

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Key Concepts

Atomic Oxygen

Molecular Oxygen

Chemical Reactivity and Stability