N2 N N Airborne Nitrogen Nitrogen is one of about 90 elements or pure substances that exist naturally on Earth The only place pure nitrogen is found is in the air that surrounds us About 78 percent of our air is made up of nitrogen gas or N2 That means every breath you take is mostly made of pure nitrogen The rest is oxygen with tiny bits of other gases mixed in Pure nitrogen is a tasteless colorless and odorless gas It is also called an inert gas This means that it doesn’t easily bond or join with other elements Given the opportunity a nitrogen atom will tend to bond only with another nitrogen atom The two form such a strong connection that nitrogen gas N2 does not react easily with other atoms That’s not to say it doesn’t react or bond with other atoms It just means it takes a lot of energy for that to happen Because nitrogen gas is so stable it is used in situations where chemical reactions might cause problems Potato chip bags for example are filled with nitrogen gas If the bags were filled with regular air the oxygen in that air would make the chips become stale This ordinary light bulb Ieft contains nitrogen gas which doesn’t catch fire when the metal filament or wire inside gets hot In many parts of the world these bulbs are being replaced by compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs right CFLs require far less electricity and last a lot longer than ordinary bulbs They can reduce costs save energy and help the environment by cutting down on the use of natural resources needed to produce electricity 6
N O O nitrogen dioxide NO2 1 nitrogen atom 2 oxygen atoms 3 atoms nitrous oxide N2O 2 nitrogen atoms 1 oxygen atom 3 atoms N O N N O nitric oxide or nitrogen monoxide NO 1 nitrogen atom 1 oxygen atom 2 atoms Making Sense of Cycles There are many molecules made of nitrogen and oxygen Many have the word oxide in their name and as a group they are called nitrogen oxides Oxides refers to the oxygen part of the molecule Three common ones are nitrogen dioxide NO2 nitrous oxide N2O and nitric oxide NO which is sometimes called nitrogen monoxide Here is one useful way to keep these compounds straight As you read this book keep a list of each of these three common nitrogen compounds Also list as many ways that each occurs in nature or human activity as you can find Some historical documents are preserved in airtight containers filled with nitrogen gas The United States Declaration of Independence for example is stored in this way If it were to come into contact with air the oxygen in the air would eventually destroy the document One very important place nitrogen is used is in cars Nitrogen gas is what inflates the airbags and protects you in a car when it crashes Because nitrogen is so stable it won’t react with other elements and cause an explosion in case there’s a fire 7 If crash test dummies could talk they would sing the praises of airbags inflated with nitrogen gas Not only do the bags protect us from impact injuries but the nitrogen is so stable that it reduces the chance of explosions and fire
Nitrogen Compounded Nitrogen gas is one of the most abundant or plentiful elements around us Because it doesn’t easily bond with other atoms not many nitrogen compounds exist naturally on Earth Some other types of atoms do link up with nitrogen however and form compounds Protein molecules in animals and plants contain nitrogen Protein is part of our cells organs bones and more We can’t survive without it and therefore we can’t survive without nitrogen A few nitrogen compounds exist in soil and water A small amount of a compound called nitrous oxide gas N2O exists naturally in our atmosphere A compound called sodium nitrate NaNO3 or Chile saltpeter is found underground in South America This white crystal is used in the manufacturing of fertilizers gunpowder and explosives A nurse treating a wart with liquid nitrogen In its natural state on Earth nitrogen is a gas But you may have heard of liquid nitrogen This is a example if you dip raspberries in liquid nitrogen the berries will freeze instantly making it easier to package and ship them Liquid Nitrogen form of pure nitrogen that has been cooled to such a low temperature that it has become as its name states a liquid Because liquid nitrogen is so cold it is used to fast-freeze some foods for transportation and storage For Liquid nitrogen is used in hospitals and labs to preserve blood and tissue samples until they are needed It is also used to remove skin growths or irregularities such as warts birthmarks and skin cancers Liquid nitrogen fast-freezes the skin it contacts This destroys the unwanted tissue so it can be removed 8
Other than these few substances most nitrogen compounds are synthetic or human-made Some are used to make colorful dyes for fabrics Some are used in fireworks and explosives TNT which is short for trinitrotoluene is an explosive mostly used for military purposes Dynamite is another explosive made from nitrogen compounds It is often used in mines and to demolish buildings In Looney Tunes cartoons Wile E Coyote uses both when he tries to blow up the Roadrunner One particularly common nitrogen compound is called ammonia It is used to make fertilizers that help farmers grow healthy crops This same compound is also produced naturally in soil And this is where the nitrogen cycle which moves this essential element everywhere it is needed comes in An apartment building during a controlled blast Triggered by carefully placed dynamite made from nitrogen compounds the blast was designed to cause the building to implode or collapse inward 9
