Textbook 2B11 part C

[Connie Liang 3L]

How come you can't include nitrogen as the central atom in between the 2 carbon atoms? Is it because carbon is less electronegative and therefore at least one should be in the middle? Alternatively, how do you tell when you're able to draw the central atoms in the order that they're presented?

[Hailey Qasawadish 2J]

For molecules that are presented how it is in part C that have many different parts, I like to do it in order to make sure that the correct things are bonded to each other. I believe the NH2 has to go on an end because it is in parentheses, but I could be mistaken.

[Connie Liang 3L]

For molecules that are presented how it is in part C that have many different parts, I like to do it in order to make sure that the correct things are bonded to each other. I believe the NH2 has to go on an end because it is in parentheses, but I could be mistaken.

@Hailey, as a general rule, do molecules with different parts have to be written in that specific order?

[Morgan Gee 3B]

As Dr. Lavelle has said, always put the least electronegative element as the central atom. When comparing carbon and nitrogen, you'll see that carbon is less electronegative than nitrogen. Just using periodic trends, nitrogen is further up and right than carbon. Also, nitrogen has a greater effective nuclear charge considering it has one more proton than carbon. This explains why nitrogen is more electronegative than carbon.

[Hailey Qasawadish 2J]

For molecules that are presented how it is in part C that have many different parts, I like to do it in order to make sure that the correct things are bonded to each other. I believe the NH2 has to go on an end because it is in parentheses, but I could be mistaken.

@Hailey, as a general rule, do molecules with different parts have to be written in that specific order?

I do not think they have to, I think it’s more of what makes sense for the molecule. For example, some molecules can only be written on the ends because they can’t have expanded octets. I still sometimes get confused when drawing these, but I start by drawing it in order, and if that doesn’t work out in terms of bonds and formal charge, I try a different way! I believe you still follow the rule that the lease electronegative goes in the middle. I’m sorry that this response is kind of scrambled, but I hope this helped!