Question

The anomalous behavior of nitrogen is due to:
A. Small size and high electronegativity.
B. Non-availability of d-orbitals in valence shell.
C. Ease of multiple bond formation.
D. All are correct.

Answer 1

Nitrogen is the chemical element of atomic number $7$. At room temperature, it is a gas of diatomic molecules and is colorless and odorless. It has an atomic mass of $14.0067$. It is considered as non-metal. But nitrogen shows anomalous behavior when compared to other elements in the same group.

Complete step by step answer:
Nitrogen has electronic configuration ${{\text{2s}}^2}{{\text{2s}}^2}{{\text{2p}}^3}$. It comes under the group $15$. It has three or five valence electrons because it can bond in outer ${\text{2p}}$ or ${\text{2s}}$ orbitals. Molecular nitrogen is stable because it can form $\pi$ bonds which are very strong. It can also form triple bonds which are stronger than the double bonds. This is because in nitrogen molecules, lone pair to lone pair repulsion is minimized. Unlike the elements in group $15$, nitrogen shows anomalous behavior.
On moving left to right in the periodic table, electronegativity increases. Thus the anomalous behavior of nitrogen is due to the high electronegativity of nitrogen. Moreover, nitrogen is small in size since it lies at the right side of the periodic table. On moving left to right, atomic size decreases since the number of electrons increases. Nitrogen has vacant d orbitals since its outer shell is ${\text{2p}}$ or ${\text{2s}}$ orbitals.
Hence we can say that all the three options are correct.

So, the correct answer is Option D .

Note:
The anomalous behavior of nitrogen is as given below:
The elements in group $15$ are polyatomic while nitrogen is diatomic.
All the elements are solid except nitrogen. It is a gas.
Nitrogen has a property of catenation.