assuming the octet rule is obeyed how many covalent bonds will a nitrogen atom form to give a formal charge of zero

3

Explanation:

In a nitrogen atom, since the no, of electrons is equal to its no. of protons, it has 7 electrons.

The electron configuration is 2, 5. (the first shell can only hold 2 electrons)

In each covalent bond, 2 electrons are shared between 2 atoms. usually, both atom contribute one electron. (unless it's dative covalent bond, which is not important at this point).

To obey octet rule, the outermost electron shell must have 8 electrons. Which means, the nitrogen atom need 3 more electrons to achieve that.

So with 3 covalent bonds, the nitrogen can get share 3 of its electrons, and obtain 3 more from the other atom(s). It won't lose electrons because covalent bonds exist between shared electrons, unlike ionic bonds.

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