Given that nitrogen forms three bonds with hydrogen to make , how many hydrogen atoms do you think will bond with an atom of phosphorus, which is in the same family as nitrogen? Explain your reasoning.

Three hydrogen atoms to form PH₃.

Explanation:

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In this case, since the elements belonging to the nitrogen family (N, P, As, Sb and Bi) show five valence electrons, because there are five electrons at their outer shell, it is clear that if phosphorous bonds with hydrogen, it is going to require the same amount of oxygen atoms (3) because elements having five valence electrons need 3 bonds in order to attain the octet (5+3=8).

Therefore the compound would be:

Which is phosphine.

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the law of conservation of mass states that in a chemical reaction, the total mass of reactants is equal to the total mass of products. because atoms are only rearranged in a chemical reaction, there must be the same number of sodium atoms and chlorine atoms in both the reactants and products