HNO3 Lewis Structure - How to Draw the Lewis Structure for HNO3

[@leah9389]

This was really helpful! I hope you know your teaching makes a difference for a handful of students!!!

[@wbreslyn]

Good to hear! --- Dr. B

[@wbreslyn]

Thanks for the kind comment. I think I really learned to teach Lewis structures with my honors chemistry classes. Dr. B

[@RajashreeS-zh1cf]

Hi sir i am seeing ur video of 10 yrs old but its crystal clear for me i see ur video for the first and it makes me u are the best🎉

[@wbreslyn]

Excellent!

[@tirthankarkalita3360]

YOU ARE THE MOST INTELLIGENT SIR

[@wbreslyn]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@pul030.]

Thanks sir ❤️ Lot's of love from india ❤️

[@mkangalang]

You explain it so much better than my professor. Thank you!

[@wbreslyn]

Hi Sesshysayoyasha93. There are a few ways to calculate formal charge. I use the equation: Formal Charge = Valence Electrons for Element - Nonbonding Electrons- (Bonding Electrons /2) So for N we have 5 - 0 - 8/2 = +1 For O with a double bond: 6 - 4 - 4/2 = 0 For the O with a single bond: 6 -6 - 2/2 = -1 For the O with an H: 6 - 4 - 4/2 = 0 Search my Channel for "Formal Charges: Calculating Formal Charge " to find a more detailed description. Dr. B

[@tactgamerz1450]

Love from India ♥️

[@wbreslyn]

In response to Andrew's question, "How did the Nitrogen atom get 6 to begin with? It only has 5 valence electrons." Yes, Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons. We added those with the valence electrons from the oxygen and hydrogen atoms to get 24 total valence electrons for the structure. In the video the Nitrogen atom is drawn with six valence electrons initially because we first distributed valence electrons around the outer atoms and then put what was left over on the inside (the N). We ran out of electrons before we could complete the octet on Nitrogen. To give Nitrogen an octet it was then necessary to form a double bond. - Dr. B

[@aayishaabusalih6043]

Thank you so much

[@lorenadula6506]

I really want to thank you. I'm from Croatia and in one month I will have chemistry exam to enrolle in college.. we have not learned this at highschool, these formal changes but it is very useful when drawing lewis structures

[@wbreslyn]

+Lorena Dula Glad I could help and good luck on your exam! --- Dr. B

[@vickysharma2949]

Thank you Dr. B for teaching me lewis dot structures and their formal charges. Thank you very much.

[@lukeboyes-varley9446]

Is there a way to tell if the hydrogen will attach to the central atom or to the oxygen? Thanks.

[@BulbulChan5]

I have the same question too ..

[@sanjuktasharma00]

Me too 😐

[@sanjaykumar-jb7jd]

hydrogen is usually( in most cases) outside

[@poojabohara3961]

Hydrogen is a small atom and also can form only one bond. If it is to be a central atom it must at least should able to form two bonds . For eg. How can a man with one hand stay in b/w two men in a chain? O-H o

[@souravgaan9041]

HNO3 is an oxoacid so the H-atom to be removed should be attached to O-atom which defining oxo (acid produces H+ ion)

[@SomaiaOsman-m8r]

nice for adding the last part I was just wondering that

[@chinmayimangalur4615]

Thank you sir! I was really needy of such kind of a video :)

[@wbreslyn]

Most welcome!

[@wbreslyn]

That would make all the formal charges zero but then Nitrogen would have more than eight valence electrons thus violating the octet rule. For some Lewis structures, like HNO3, it's not possible to get the formal charges to zero.

[@luisrmztre94]

Thanks Dr. B! Your videos really helped me understand Lewis Structures :)

[@speedy-1299]

thanks this method made it much easier to understand

[@drewborgholthaus2010]

Also, the double bond variation on the left breaks the octet rule for the oxygen by having 5 bonds instead of its limited 4.

[@luciaabigail7989]

pero en el caso del acido fosforico tiene 5 enlaces, no entiendo, en que radica esta diferencia.

[@AnuragSharma-nits]

Amazing ...Concept got Crystal Cleatrd

[@wbreslyn]

Excellent!

[@nikitajoshi3712]

you are really an amazing teacher

[@huyentrangtranp9241]

Tks so much for those vid about Lewis structure :))). It help me a lots for my presentation in class ^^

[@Nataliislove]

life saver...... Thank you!

[@freddydurannn]

why do you pair the hydrogen with one of the oxygens instead of just to the nitrogen?

[@damoahbenjamin9585]

I also don't get it have been able to figure it out.

[@saratsaherrera]

I have a doubt... in the structure where the double bond is with the =O-H you have put 26 electrons when the molecule has only 24, and then you've said that this structure violates the octet rule for the Oxygen with a double bond but that's not true! Maybe I'm wrong but I think that this structure is not as stable as the other one because the formal charge of N is +1 and the =O is +1 too.

[@Fantasticifaction]

Your S in the second example has 10 electrons in the outer shell. Can S even do that? The octetrule suggests the first example is the only appropriate one..

[@umarfarooqshaik2504]

Super teaching sir

[@wbreslyn]

Thanks!

[@seol9936]

WOW. Nice explanation. thx a looooooot.

[@maxkang351]

(1:50) I don't think the structure violates the octet rule. You would need to use two valence electrons on oxygen to form a double bond with the nitrogen, wouldn't you ? I think you had to color the two of the valence electrons green as well.

[@wbreslyn]

Actually, the structure on the left has the problem with the O bonded to the H. Even though I have the electrons as green they are still shared. So that gives me 10 total and O can only have eight. What I should have done is removed two of the electrons on the O not involved in a chemical bond. But it shows you how easy it is to make mistakes with Lewis structures! ---Dr. B

[@codyliao]

Thanks for the nice vid, but I'm wondering why couldn't you remove the lone pair from the oxygen attached to hydrogen of the left structure (at 1:50)and form double bond with nitrogen as you did for the oxygen not attaching to hydrogen ? Thanks!

[@wbreslyn]

Cody L Good question. The problem has to do with the formal charges (see my website: www.thegeoexchange.org/chemistry/bonding/Formal-Charges/index.html). We'd end up with at +1 on the O attached to the H. The N would have a +1 formal charge. The other O atoms would each have a -1 charge. (This is assuming you had single bonds on the other O atoms). The best structure has the formal charges as close to zero as possible (like the Lewis structure in the video). --- Dr. B

[@reil8340]

I'm learning Chemistry, thank you very much for your videos, they're great! Question: Can triple bonds only be formed by O, N, S, P, C also?

[@wbreslyn]

I'm not sure about other elements (or P and S off the top of my head). Most of the triple bonds will between C, O, and N. It could also be between two carbon atoms or two nitrogen atoms. All the best learning chemistry, Dr. B.

[@reil8340]

Wayne Breslyn Thanks!

[@poonamnarwal7797]

plz explain how we got +1 -1 charge

[@ciaranodonoghue112]

Because it has to comply with the octet rule.

[@MoizAsimagar]

Because Nitrogen gives one of its lone pairs to an O atom, So Nitrogen develops a +1 Charge and Oxygen receiving the lone pair, gets the negative charge... The overall charge is 0 because they cancel out..

[@victordiniz977]

why can't you attach the H to N?

[@sanjuktasharma00]

Victor Diniz same question duh🙍😢😑

[@Knight1223]

Acid group contain OH- group. If you attach N with H, you will not get your OH- group

[@SUPERFLYF23]

I thought acids contained H+ groups, and bases contain OH- groups?

[@kevinsanthosh3537]

Wesley Richardson that helps me a lot, thanks

[@thajasnethomas778]

Plus, there is a rule which says that elements of higher electronegativity like O, F, and even H (special) are attached to the terminal position.

[@RoloTomasi-g2e]

Thank you very much! I was stuck as to why you couldn't put the double bond on the Oxygen that is attached to the Hydrogen! Very helpful

[@wbreslyn]

Thanks, John, glad I could help. HNO3 is a bit of a tricky one. --- Dr. B

[@arjolabeshaj537]

thank you so much you help us a lot

[@Christophe_L]

Great explanation!

[@zakirhasan7588]

Hello Dr B. You are amazing! I had one doubt. Instead of taking the 2 electrons from the oxygen on the left, can we take the 2 electrons from the oxygen on the right (the oxygen which is attached to the H) and attach it to the N? Will that be correct too?

[@harrykane1347]

no

[@saint-francoislones2668]

Why don't we put a second double band also on the oxygen on the top? Because tanks to a last double band we would have 0 everywhere for the formal charges

[@jayakrishna8299]

Sir please reply, Nitrogen's covalancy is 3, then how can it make 4 bonds with oxygen?

[@fabricio_santana]

Hi Dr. B., why not form a double bond between the nitrogen and the other oxygen that currently has only one bond? that way the formal charges of each atom in the structure would be zero. Is it because the nitrogen can't have more than 8 electrons in its valence shell?

[@wbreslyn]

You are right, N can only hold 8 electrons (with a few rare exceptions where it has 7). --- Dr. B

[@fabricio_santana]

Wayne Breslyn Thank you Dr. B.

[@annazanardi5740]

Thank you! But can we also make a dative bond?

[@cameliaamazigh3697]

Which structured is preferred though? The one on the left or right? Wouldn't it be the one on the left since there are more formal charges of 0

[@thehimank]

Thank you so much sir.

[@wbreslyn]

Most welcome!

[@kr.vickybadshah7741]

Very good sir

[@wbreslyn]

Thanks! --- Dr. B

[@ixramuffin9416]

Hello, I checked your explanation on formal charges, and I really can't figure out why in the left configuration the oxygen has a formal charge of +1. It is in group 6, has 4 non-bonding electrons, and 6 bonding electrons, so according to your formula we should get 6-4-6/2=-1. This is the first time I'm hearing about formal charges so it's a bit disheartening that I can't make sense of it, and would appreciate it if you could help out.

[@DanielleCricchio]

Why not double bond the central oxygen to the nitrogen as well to eliminate formal charges?

[@winnethisoma8396]

Please tell me you know now (9 years later), because I’m asking the same question now

[@Aryan-vn3ls]

Would it be wrong to make a double bond with the oxygen atom above nitrogen ?

[@wbreslyn]

That is fine. HNO3 does have resonance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJm0pWOjltZji9U

[@pranjaldwivedi891]

😊 thanks

[@wbreslyn]

You're welcome!

[@asmyvitchi5148]

How do we know the H is attached to the O and not the N

[@varnavasflourentzou1042]

the octet rule is broken in molecules such as HSO4-, as in the end form the middle S has 12 electrons around it. So why can't we break the rule here as well?

[@wbreslyn]

The octet rule is followed for Periods 1 and 2. In Period 3 on down it is possible to have an extended octet (more than 8 valence electrons). So in the HNO3 Lewis structure all of the elements are in Period 1 or 2. - Dr. B

[@varnavasflourentzou1042]

Wayne Breslyn Thanks a lot! :)

[@MacroNate]

Couldn't the double bond also be on the other oxygen not bonded to hydrogen, giving the molecule resonance structures?

[@wbreslyn]

+Nathaniel M. Yep, you are correct. That would be an appropriate Lewis structure as well. --- Dr. B

[@MacroNate]

+Wayne Breslyn (Dr. B.) Thanks!

[@wafawiwio112]

+Wayne Breslyn (Dr. B.) thnk u so much

[@earth2ellie]

Couldn't one also argue that you can't put the double bond between the N and the O with the H attached because that will have 3 bonds attached to the O atom, when it could only hold two?

[@wbreslyn]

In this case there would be one bond between the N and O and then one bond between the O and H. So that would only be two bonds. The other two pairs of electrons are unbonded pairs.

[@TheCroniky]

following the rules of formal charge, shouldn`t we get one pair of electrons from the O(-) to share with the N(+)?

[@wbreslyn]

This might help... kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKTdaJJvqpeeqrc

[@TheCroniky]

@@wbreslyn thank you 💚

[@alexbarboni2040]

How can I tell how many electrons of the N valence shell are used to create the bonds, since in the final Lewis structure the N formed an octet?

[@wbreslyn]

Most of the time you don't really need to but if you are interested look up coordinate covalent bonds (www.quora.com/How-many-coordinate-covalent-bonds-are-in-HNO3). --- Dr. B

[@kalpanahansda7040]

I have ask for NHO³ Cris cross method

[@wbreslyn]

Do you mean HNO3? Like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/epSrmItuqq2aaM0 --- Dr. B

[@XperienceGames]

Are you sure the charge on Nitrogen isn't -1 and the charge on Oxygen isn't +1?

[@namratawadhankar5111]

How many Nitrogen electrons are involved in bond formation in HONO2? SIR PLEASE REPLY

[@AhmedAli-vf2nf]

is not it single bond better for the formal charge? I got N=0, O=-1, O(attached to the H)=0

[@shadablaskar3515]

Nice 👍

[@cats374]

when you form the double bond with the oxygen with the hydrogen you have 26 electrons, isnt that too many?

[@wbreslyn]

You're right, the HNO3 Lewis structure on the left has 26. I put in an annotation to alert viewers. Thanks, Dr. B.

[@anuragaryal1145]

You showed formal charge in this example while you didn't in CO: can I know why???

[@wbreslyn]

Good question! Perhaps because there are more possibilities here and the formal charge is helpful to choose the best.

[@kartikey2518]

नाइस lewis dot strecter

[@20_SinManya]

Sir, how do we know that N is the central atom?

[@wbreslyn]

Because it is the least electronegative (and H always goes on the outside of a Lewis Structure). See: Electronegativity 3D Chart: www.wou.edu/chemistry/files/2017/04/eletronegativity.jpg --- Dr. B

[@garrison4173]

I konw I'm really really late so I don't expect you to answer, but why does my chemistry teacher say that nitric acid is an ionic compound because it forms hydrogen ions and nitrate ions even though that only happens when it dissociates in water? Its not an ionic compound its just a polar covalent one but it seems my teacher wants me to put ionic just because it forms ions. Is this just because I'm just in high school and my teacher is just trying to dumb it down for us or is this something I should ask her about?

[@wbreslyn]

I would say that is polar covalent due to the differences in electronegativity . None of the elements vary by more then 1.7 in their electronegativity so it doesn't meet the definition of ionic.

[@danielkwon3062]

can u tell me how you got -1 and +1? isn't oxygen -2 (according to periodic table)?

[@wbreslyn]

Ah, these are formal charges (not to be confused with ionic charge). Take a look at: Determining Formal Charge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rICpcoOippmslc0 Formal Charge Practice Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2rJZXtmpdqJsMU We use formal charge to determine which is the most favorable Lewis structure when there is more than one way to draw the structure. --- Dr. B

[@andrewfowler9044]

How did the Nitrogen atom get 6 to begin with? It only has 5 valence electrons.

[@blackpunkspyder]

+Andrew Fowler it's Oxygen electrons.

[@TheBrickCraftsman]

why does N have a +1? Formal charge of N = (valence e-) - (No. of bonds + No. of unshared e-) = 5 - (4 + 1) = 0... correct me please ty.

[@wbreslyn]

That's because all of the electrons are in chemical bonds. There are't any unshared electrons on the Nitrogen atom. So that would give you 5 - (4 + 0) = +1 . ---Dr. B

[@TheBrickCraftsman]

Oh yeah. What was I thinking! Thanks :D

[@benkennedy6720]

How to you know to add the +1 and -1 charges?

[@wbreslyn]

When I'm looking at formal charges for an atom I add up the formal charges on each element to get a total. Determining Formal Charge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rICpcoOippmslc0 Formal Charge Practice Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2rJZXtmpdqJsMU --- Dr. B

[@suvikhyasiingh]

Thank you sir

[@wbreslyn]

You’re welcome! ---Dr. B

[@hilfe7536]

Thank you for the video,,,,but i dont get one thing ... why cant you add another bond to the nitrogen ,,, from the other oxygen ,,,that would give you the nitrogen double bonded to both oxygens and one singly bonded oxygen(the one with hydrogen) the formal charges would also all add up to 0...?! :/

[@wbreslyn]

Hilfe! I like your thinking but the problem would be that you'd have 10 valence electrons around the Nitrogen atom, thus violating the Octet rule (which N must follow). --- Dr. B

[@QuyenNguyen-te8bz]

I'm not sure why the structure on the left has 26 electron

[@patrikchatterjee1790]

sir similarly,how we can draw the structure of NH4Cl?

[@shreeramvprasad2936]

It is made up of two ions NH4+ and cl- , hence draw individual structure separated by brackets

[@zayn8626]

i think its wrong since N is in 5th group is should have 2 in one side and one i each other side

[@tenton2000k]

is there a rule that the hydrogen will always bond with the oxygen but not nitrogen in this casem

[@harrykane1347]

no

[@harrykane1347]

in HNO2 H bonds with N

[@swethal6785]

wat is formal charges & how to calculate them ?

[@wbreslyn]

+Swetha Logachandru Take a look at this page on my website for info and a video on calculating formal charges ... www.thegeoexchange.org/chemistry/bonding/Formal-Charges/index.html --- Dr. B

[@swethal6785]

+Wayne Breslyn (Dr. B.) thanks a lot Dr.B .this helped a lot.

[@malak3229]

Thanks sooo much..

[@neenoo12345]

One thing I don't get.. One of the Oxygens doesn't really have 8 electrons, it originally has 6, shared one, which makes seven, doesn't it? PLEASE someone help me! I wanna ace my final tomorrow.

[@wbreslyn]

If you look at the final Lewis structure, the Oxygen atoms all have eight valence electrons. So when Oxygen shares one of it's electrons, the atom it is bonding to is also sharing an electron. So it ends up with the original six, the one it shared, and the one that was shared with it by the other atom. That's one way to think about it. Take a look at kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4vPn62vfcabrNE - that might provide some additional explanation. --- Dr. B

[@neenoo12345]

OHHHH I just got it😂💔 I can't believe I've been so stupid, this makes so much sense, thanks a million!

[@poojabohara3961]

In the second structure oxygen have 10 electrons

[@mahbuburrahman4260]

In vedio:(N)=5-0-8/2=1 Can't I write (N)=5-0-10/2=0 {By giving double bond between upper OXYGEN and NITROGEN (N::O)!!!}?

[@mahbuburrahman4260]

I understand now. Sorry

[@wbreslyn]

No problem! It is common to figure things out just through the process of asking a question. That's an excellent way to learn.

[@mahbuburrahman4260]

I have another question. Is MgO have structural bond/ structural formula!!

[@wbreslyn]

@@mahbuburrahman4260 I'm not sure what you mean by a structural formula. MgO would be considered a formula unit of a larger crystal (like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_oxide#/media/File:NaCl_polyhedra.png)

[@mahbuburrahman4260]

Do mgO have chemical bond? {Ionic compound }😐

[@MysticMD]

Isn't there a resonance for the correct structure?!?!

[@wbreslyn]

The other primary resonance structures would with the double bond on the other N - O bond. A double bond on the N - OH would be a lesser form of resonance. The HNO3 structure as seen in the lab would be a weighted average of the resonance structures. --- Dr. B

[@tarlositerules]

how do you know if its +1 or -1?

[@wbreslyn]

Like this: Determining Formal Charge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rICpcoOippmslc0 Formal Charge Practice Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2rJZXtmpdqJsMU --- Dr. B

[@sapanag.c8366]

Cant we make the bond between N and H ?

[@eschewobfuscation2]

+Sapana G.C Because the oxygen atoms would not have the right amount of valence electrons. Nitrogen would not be able to distribute enough. I tried.

[@임정수-q8z]

thanks in korea

[@wafflecakepans]

H = 1, N = 4, O = 6... (6x3) + 1 + 4 = 23. Where does the 24th electron come from?

[@wbreslyn]

It's because N is in Group 15 (or 5A). It has five valence electrons. --- Dr. B

[@rohankumarsaini890]

thank you sirji

[@johnedward9733]

How come theres 24 valence electrons?

[@wbreslyn]

H has 1, N has 5, and O has 6 (but we times that by 3). So 1 + 5 + 18 = 24. Take a look at kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmLKlZmhq9CDis0 for valence electrons for the elements. --- Dr. B

[@johnedward9733]

oh okay. I was calculating with the atomic number to get the valence electron. so now i know the mistake i was making. Thanks for your help!

[@wbreslyn]

Yeah, that's a fairly common error but you should be set now. --- Dr.B

[@kushkumar1887]

explain that N has 5 electron and oxygen has 6 electrons in their outer shell, then why is this showing that on top bond only 1 electron of N combines with 1 electron of oxygen where is the other one electron of N go????

[@harrykane1347]

N makes coordinate covalent bond with the other O which is single bonded (the one not attached to H)

[@heskiel5115]

wow perfect O

[@nohas_167]

C has 5 v.e H has 2 O has 6x3 = 18 Then together they have 25 in my concept.. How is urs 24

[@wbreslyn]

There is only one H in HNO3.

[@nohas_167]

@@wbreslyn ohh okay thank you

[@daminidas4175]

Why should we put Nitrogen in the middle and hydrogen by the side? that is my main problem!

[@wbreslyn]

Hydrogen always goes on the outside of a Lewis structure. So that part is pretty straightforward. We put the Nitrogen atom in the center because is is less electronegative than Oxygen. Here's a periodic table showing electronegativities of atoms. chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Inorganic_Chemistry/Descriptive_Chemistry/Periodic_Trends_of_Elemental_Properties/Periodic_Trends -Dr. B

[@norbertlim6445]

why there is a -1 and +1 charge

[@ajx9747]

see videos about formal charge on KZbin

[@payalkumari3821]

But notrogen have only 5 valance electron

[@VishalJadhav-g9c]

Thanks

[@musicsuperstar2510]

but nitrogen has valence electrons 5 not 6

[@wbreslyn]

Yes, Nitrogen by itself is considered to have five valence electrons. But when it bonds it shares to get an octet. --- Dr. B

[@trmasl]

I want NO+

[@wbreslyn]

You got it ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZLMo51nh8eokKM --- Dr. B

[@Ephidell]

Nitrogen have only 5 electron I guess example is incorrect

[@wbreslyn]

Yes, Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons. We added those with the valence electrons from the oxygen and hydrogen atoms to get 24 total valence electrons for the structure. In the video the Nitrogen atom is drawn with six valence electrons initially because we first distributed valence electrons around the outer atoms and then put what was left over on the inside (the N). We ran out of electrons before we could complete the octet on Nitrogen. To give Nitrogen an octet it was then necessary to form a double bond. - Dr. B

[@Ephidell]

Wayne Breslyn Thanks for the fast responce and clear clarification.

[@wbreslyn]

No problem!

[@internationalremixes6440]

a video that goes on and on

[@은채-j3w]

감사합니다ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[@wbreslyn]

아니에요!

[@shivakrishnas4981]

nice

[@wcaedits]

fareed gat

[@shobhar3464]

Anyone from 2025

[@AkhileshkumarMishra-g7p]

Wrong