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This is a difficult question. What has to be addressed is the fact that in group 14, carbon is excellent at forming long chains, which contrasts to the heavier elements in the group. The ability drops to form chains decreases as you go down the group. With group 15 concatenation of nitrogen seem to limit at 3 in HN3. Phosphorus catenates in a comparable way to silicon. What is different? Well N2 is amazingly stable- its triple bond is approximately 3X the strength of a N-N single bond. In simple terms this means that whenever you try to form a long chain catenated nitrogen compound, nitrogen gas is just too stable and the molecule falls apart. HN3 is very unstable and is explosive.

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Why nitrogen have less tendency to form catenation than phosphorus?

The reason for this lies in the bond dissociation enthalpy of Nitrogen molecule, The two atoms are bonded by a triple bond whose enthalpy is 941.4 KJ mol-1 . So the two atoms are not very free to bond with others Not only this, the higher tendency of P to form catenation is its bigger size than N which makes the bond cleavage with other atoms easy.


Why does the reactivity of nitrogen differ from phosphorus?

Nitrogen is chemically less reactive. This is because of the high stability of its molecule, N2. In N2, the two nitrogen atoms form a triple bond. This triple bond has very high bond strength, which is very difficult to break. It is because of nitrogen's small size that it is able to form pπ−pπ bonds with itself. This property is not exhibited by atoms such as phosphorus. Thus, phosphorus is more reactive than nitrogen.


Differences between nitrogen fixation and phosphorus fixation?

Nitrogen fixation is a biochemical process that transfer atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into NH3. The former is bio-unavailable, while the later one is bio-available. There is no analogy process for phosphorus.


Is phosphorus electronegative?

Yes, phosphorus is electronegative. It is a nonmetal element located in the nitrogen group of the periodic table. However, phosphorus is less electronegative than elements like oxygen and fluorine.


Why are the electrons in nitrogen and phosphorus covalent bond not shared equally?

The electrons in a nitrogen-phosphorus covalent bond are NOT shared equally because as you go down the Periodic Table, electronegativity decreases. This means since Phosphorous is below Nitrogen it has less electrons bonded to itself and more electrons bonded closer to Nitrogen due to the fact that Nitrogen is above Phosphorus and has higher electronegativity (remember electronegativity is a measure of how much an atom attracts an electron); therefore, this is why more electrons spend more time around Nitrogen.

Related Questions

Why nitrogen have less tendency to form catenation than phosphorus?

The reason for this lies in the bond dissociation enthalpy of Nitrogen molecule, The two atoms are bonded by a triple bond whose enthalpy is 941.4 KJ mol-1 . So the two atoms are not very free to bond with others Not only this, the higher tendency of P to form catenation is its bigger size than N which makes the bond cleavage with other atoms easy.


Why does the reactivity of nitrogen differ from phosphorus?

Nitrogen is chemically less reactive. This is because of the high stability of its molecule, N2. In N2, the two nitrogen atoms form a triple bond. This triple bond has very high bond strength, which is very difficult to break. It is because of nitrogen's small size that it is able to form pπ−pπ bonds with itself. This property is not exhibited by atoms such as phosphorus. Thus, phosphorus is more reactive than nitrogen.


Differences between nitrogen fixation and phosphorus fixation?

Nitrogen fixation is a biochemical process that transfer atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into NH3. The former is bio-unavailable, while the later one is bio-available. There is no analogy process for phosphorus.


Is phosphorus electronegative?

Yes, phosphorus is electronegative. It is a nonmetal element located in the nitrogen group of the periodic table. However, phosphorus is less electronegative than elements like oxygen and fluorine.


Why is the phosphorus cycle slower than the nitrogen cycle?

The phosphorus cycle is slower than the nitrogen cycle because phosphorus is released into the environment primarily through the weathering of rocks, which is a slow process. In contrast, nitrogen is converted into usable forms by bacteria through nitrogen fixation at a faster rate, leading to a quicker turnover in the nitrogen cycle.


Chemical properties for nitrogen?

Nitrogen is kept in places to keep away air as it is very less reactive.


Why are the electrons in nitrogen and phosphorus covalent bond not shared equally?

The electrons in a nitrogen-phosphorus covalent bond are NOT shared equally because as you go down the Periodic Table, electronegativity decreases. This means since Phosphorous is below Nitrogen it has less electrons bonded to itself and more electrons bonded closer to Nitrogen due to the fact that Nitrogen is above Phosphorus and has higher electronegativity (remember electronegativity is a measure of how much an atom attracts an electron); therefore, this is why more electrons spend more time around Nitrogen.


What are three allotropes of phosphorus how are they different?

The three allotropes of phosphorus are white phosphorus, red phosphorus, and black phosphorus. White phosphorus is a highly reactive and toxic form that glows in the dark, red phosphorus is more stable and less reactive, and black phosphorus has a layered structure similar to graphite and exhibits semiconducting properties.


Do sulfur nitrogen phosphorus and bromine have the same thermal conductivity?

These elements have quite different physical characteristics. At normal temperatures and pressures, nitrogen is a gas, sulfur and phosphorus are solid, and bromine is a liquid. Nitrogen, in a gaseous state, is far less thermally conductive than the others.


Why is nitrogen less reactive than phosphorus?

Nitrogen exists as gas (N2) in nature. Nitrogen gas is very unreactive due to the presence of strong triple bonds and has a complete octet for both atoms. N2 is commonly used in food packaging (the gas in potato chips) because of this property.Phosphorus, on the other hand, exists as solid (P4) in nature. P4 has bonds with unstable angle strains compared to that of N2. As a proof of this reactivity, P4 burns quickly.


Element with the same chemical properties as nitrogen?

There is NOT such an element:All elements have an unique, some more, some less different set of chemical properties, though there are some metals resambling each other more than most of the nonmetals, like oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, ... etc.


Can phosphorus be posion?

White phosphorus is very dangerous and not just because it is poisonous. Red phosphorus is considered less poisonous.