1. Draw the Lewis Structure:
* Nitrogen (N) is the central atom because it's the least electronegative.
* Hydrogen (H) and Chlorine (Cl) are the surrounding atoms.
* Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons.
* Hydrogen has 1 valence electron each.
* Chlorine has 7 valence electrons.
The Lewis structure looks like this:
H
|
N - Cl
|
H
2. Count Valence Electrons:
* Nitrogen: 5
* Hydrogen (2 atoms): 2
* Chlorine: 7
* Total: 14 valence electrons
3. Distribute Electrons:
* Each single bond (N-H and N-Cl) uses 2 electrons.
* There are 3 bonds, using 6 electrons.
* Remaining electrons: 14 - 6 = 8 electrons.
* Place the remaining 8 electrons around the central nitrogen atom as lone pairs (4 electron pairs).
4. Determine Nonbonding Pairs:
* The nitrogen atom has two lone pairs of electrons (4 electrons).
Therefore, the number of nonbonding electron pairs on the central atom (nitrogen) in NH2Cl is 2.
