Oxidation Number of Nitrogen in NO2

Question: What is the Oxidation Number of Nitrogen in NO₂?

Answer: The oxidation number is the number of electrons that the atoms in a particular molecule can share, lose, or gain when they form chemical bonds with other atoms of a different element. The oxidation number of Nitrogen in NO₂ (Nitrogen dioxide) is +4. So, it gains four electrons when they form a chemical bond. 

In a Nitrogen dioxide molecule, the number of oxygen atoms is two and there is one nitrogen atom. In a nitrogen atom, the oxidation number can be figured out by two methods:

1. Algebra Method. 
2. By observing the structure of the molecule, itself. 

It is found that N-O bonds are attracted towards oxygen atoms as oxygen atoms are more electromagnetic compared to that nitrogen.