Chemistry: A Molecular Approach (3rd Edition)

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0321809246
ISBN 13: 978-0-32180-924-7

Chapter 22 - Sections 22.1-22.9 - Exercises - Problems by Topic - Page 1070: 47

Answer

Fixing nitrogen refers to converting $N_{2}$ to a nitrogen containing compound.

Work Step by Step

The obvious unlimited source of nitrogen is the atmosphere, but the strong triple bond in elemental nitrogen renders it unusable by plants. In order to be used as fertilizer, elemental nitrogen has to be $fixed$ , which means that it has to be converted into a nitrogen-containing compound such as $NH_{3}$.
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