• Question: is nitrogen a noble gas

    Asked by to Kevin, Fiona, Elaine, Darren, Anna on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Fiona McLean

      Fiona McLean answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Nitrogen is not a noble gas. It’s not brave enough. I’m joking! A noble gas is non-reactive. Nitrogen is also relatively non-reactive. The main reason nitrogen is not a noble gas is because of the number if electrons it has.

      So, all elements have things called ‘electron shells’. These shells are where the electrons live and they are kind of like shelves. And on each shelf you can only fit a certain number of electrons on. Noble gases have shelves which are completely full where as other elements have ones which are half full or a quarter full or even only have one electron on it. Nitrogen doesn’t have a full shelf so it can’t be classed as a noble gas!

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