Among the oxides of nitrogen, N2O, NO and NO2, molecules with unpaired electrons are : — Chemical Bonding Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Step 1: Calculate the total number of valence electrons for each oxide of nitrogen: N2O has 16 electrons (even, all paired); NO has 11 electrons (odd, contains one unpaired electron); NO2 has 17 electrons (odd, contains one unpaired electron). Step 2: Any molecule with an odd number of total valence electrons must have at least one unpaired electron. Step 3: Therefore, NO and NO2 are odd-electron molecules containing unpaired electrons, matching option (b).