Q 1: Nitrogen exhibits a maximum covalency of four. Explain.
Since nitrogen is present in second period, it has no vacant ‘d’ orbital (ie. 1s² 2s² 2p³). Hence, the excitation of 2s electron into 3s is not possible.
Q 2 : What are the products obtained by the thermal decomposition of sodium azide.
The thermal decomposition of sodium azide (NaN3) gives dinitrogen gas.
2 NaN3 → 2 Na+ 3 N2
Q3: When compared to CN⁻, NO⁺ and CO, N₂ is chemically inert. Explain.
Nitrogen is inert because of non-polar bond nature and high bond dissociation energy. In addition to that, The N₂ molecule consists of two nitrogen atoms bonded together by a triple covalent bond (N≡N). It has very high bond dissociation energy (~941 kJ mol⁻¹)..