Why does Nitrogen form a compound with 3 hydrogen atoms?
Nitrogen’s atomic number is 7, which means it’s got two orbitals. The inner one has two electrons in it, like every atom except hydrogen has. The outer orbital has five electrons. An orbital can have as many as eight electrons. It can get them either from itself or by sharing with other atoms. So…it has five electrons of its own, shares three with three hydrogen atoms, and makes a stable compound.
