Chemical Bonding: N₂H₄ Lewis Structure

Drawing the Lewis Structure for N₂H₄

Viewing Notes:

• N₂H₄ is straightforward with no double or triple bonds.
• In the N₂H₄ Lewis structure the two Nitrogen (N) atoms go in the center (Hydrogen always goes on the outside).
• Hydrogen (H) only needs two valence electrons to have a full outer shell.
• In the Lewis structure for N₂H₄ there are a total of 14 valence electrons.

Transcript: Let's do the N2H4 Lewis structure. Nitrogen has five valence electrons. We have two Nitrogens. Plus, Hydrogen has one valence electron and we have four of them. So 10 + 4: we have a total of 14 valence electrons. Put the Nitrogens in the center because the Hydrogens always go on the outside. We have 4 Hydrogens. We'll put 2 on each Nitrogen, like this. Then we'll put two valence electrons between the atoms to form chemical bonds. We've used six, eight, ten ... back in the center, twelve, and fourteen.

So let's check our octets now that we've used all of the 14 valence electrons we started with. All of the Hydrogens have two valence electrons. Hydrogen only needs two for a full outer shell, so all of our Hydrogens are OK. The Nitrogens have eight valence electrons, so their outer shells are full. So we've used all 14 valence electrons, we've satisfied the outer shells, they're all full for each of the elements and that's it.

That's the N2H4 Lewis structure. This is Dr. B., and thanks for watching.