[JohnTan]

Hi everyone,
I just have a query about the electron configurations of nitrogen and oxygen in their "excited states". Is nitrogen 1s2 2s1 2p3 3s1? If so, does this affect the 2sp3 hybridization? also, does the atom need to pass through the excited state in order to hybridize?
thankyou

[tcraw033]

The excited electron would be 1s2 2s1 2p3 3s1 I believe which is what you said   and I am not sure what you are asking in the second part of your question

[JohnTan]

Thanks, let me try and clarify.
In the example I have been given for the hybridization of carbon, it shows the carbon going from its ground state 1s2 2s2 2p2 to its excited state 1s2 2s1 2p3, before hybridizing to 1s2 2sp3. So I am wondering if this happens for all atoms? and if it does then how does nitrogen hybridize to form 1s2 [2sp3]5?

[tcraw033]

Carbon in the ground state can only form 2 bonds... however we know that it forms 4 bonds. So carbon has to promote an electron from the 2s orbital to the 2p orbital so that it has 4 unpaired electrons.  This has to be done for us to obtain an sp3 hybridization of carbon because sp3 means that it has 4 groups attached to it. 

For nitrogen, I don't think that it always has to be excited before it hybridizes... because it can bond many ways in molecules...(it is commonly seen with a charge, whereas carbon is not)  does that make sense?  For nitrogen to be sp3 hybridized, it will need to make 3 bonds and have a lone pair ...or have 4 bonds.  the ground state of nitrogen has the 2s orbital filled and then one electron in each of the p orbitals right?  so this allows for it to make 3 bonds.  now if you hybridize this, you will get sp3 and one of the orbitals (the 2s) will have paired electrons in it.  These will be a bit higher in energy and correspond to the lone pair. 

Does that make sense?