Question

draw the lewis structure of ch₂nh and then choose the appropriate pair of hybridization states for the two central atoms. your answer choice is independent of the orientation of your drawn structure. click to edit molecule

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the Lewis structure of \(CH_2NH\)

Carbon (C) has 4 valence electrons, hydrogen (H) has 1 valence electron, and nitrogen (N) has 5 valence electrons. In \(CH_2NH\), the structure is \(H_2C - NH\). The carbon atom forms 3 single bonds (2 with H and 1 with N) and has no lone pairs. The nitrogen atom forms 2 single bonds (1 with C and 1 with H) and has 1 lone pair.

Step2: Calculate the hybridization of carbon

For the carbon atom: The number of electron - groups (bonds + lone pairs) around C is 3 (3 single bonds). Using the formula for hybridization \(H=\frac{V + M - C + A}{2}\) (where \(V\) is the number of valence electrons of the central atom, \(M\) is the number of monovalent atoms, \(C\) is the charge of cation, \(A\) is the charge of anion; for neutral molecules, \(C = A=0\)). For \(C\) in \(CH_2NH\), \(H=\frac{4 + 2}{2}=3\). When \(H = 3\), the hybridization is \(sp^{2}\).

Step3: Calculate the hybridization of nitrogen

For the nitrogen atom: The number of electron - groups around N is 4 (2 single bonds + 1 lone pair). Using the formula \(H=\frac{5+2}{2}=3.5\) (but more simply, count the electron - groups: 3 bonding pairs and 1 lone pair, total 4). When the number of electron - groups \(n = 4\), the hybridization is \(sp^{3}\).

Answer:

C. \(sp^{2}/sp^{3}\)