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Jace Toy DDS

Feb 20, 2025

How many lone pairs of electrons exist on the central atom in ammonia (NH3)?

1. two2. four3. three4. none 5. one

2 Answers

5. oneThe central atom in ammonia is nitrogen which will be connected to three hydrogen atoms. Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons, so if it shares electrons with three hydrogen atoms, it will have one lone pair of electrons.... Show More
I think just one because ammonia looks approximately like this: H | :N – H | HN has 5 valence electrons and tries to pull in another three from the hydrogen atoms, leaving the remaining two as an electron pair. So the overall shape is pyramidal... Show More

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