Question

Name two neutral oxides of nitrogen.

Answer 1

The answer to this question includes the concept of neutral oxides, that is they are nothing but the one that does not react with either acids or bases and by knowing which all are the oxides of nitrogen and which are neutral among them, we can approach the answer.

Complete answer:
We are familiar with the concepts of acidity, basicity and also the neutral compounds from our previous lower classes and also the properties of those compounds.
We shall discuss in brief about the definition of neutral oxides and then deduce the answer by taking the oxides of nitrogen.
- Neutral oxides are defined as the oxides that do not show basic or acidic properties when reacted with water and also those that do not form the salts when reacted with acids or bases.
Now, there are various nitrogen oxides and they are five in number and are:
- Nitrogen dioxide $(N{{O}_{2}})$
- Nitric oxide $(NO)$
- Nitrous oxide $({{N}_{2}}O)$
- Nitrogen trioxide $(N{{O}_{3}})$
- Nitrogen pentoxide $({{N}_{2}}{{O}_{5}})$
Thus, among these oxides nitrous oxide $({{N}_{2}}O)$ is slightly soluble in water and is neutral and nitric oxide $(NO)$ is appreciable soluble in cold water. Thus, these two oxides of nitrogen do not show any acidic or basic properties when reacted with water.

Therefore, the correct answer is the two neutral oxides of nitrogen are ${{N}_{2}}O$ and $NO$.

Note: Note that the term neutral oxide is given for the oxides that do not react with either acid or base and the reverse of this definition is that the oxides that react with both acid and base are known by the term amphoteric oxides. This fact can help you to understand the difference and solve the questions relating to it.