Ammonia vs the Ammonium Ion (NH3 vs NH4 +)

A brief explanation of the differences between Ammonia (NH3) and the Ammonium Ion (NH4+) including Lewis structures, molecular geometry, and bond angles.

In comparing and contrasting Ammonia and the Ammonium ion:

• Ammonia is a strong smelling substance. The Ammonium ion has no odor.
• Both Ammonia and the Ammonium ion have eight valence electrons.
• Ammonia has a trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry. This is because of the lone pair of electrons.
• The Ammonium ion has a tetrahedral molecular geometry since it has four single bonds to the H atoms and no lone pairs.
• Ammonia (NH3) is a single molecule. The Ammonium ion (NH4+) exists bonded to other atoms, like Cl in the compound NH4Cl, or surrounded by water molecules when dissolved in water.

Resources for the Ammonia (NH3):

Resources for the Ammonium Ion (NH4+):

Other Resources:

[felixdiaz]

Thank you so muchhh !! your educational videos are not boringly long and they explain perfectly :)

[Ibrahim_Ezzeddine.]

Hi Professor Wayne, I do have a question. Is NH4+ ion more stable than NH3 in the sense of octet rule, and bonding with lone pairs, and why does it form in the first place? Is it something to do with electronegativity, octet rule. It will be really good if you give me a reasonable anwser, and thank you.

[abeertodi]

Thank you sir for clearing our doubts so perfectly .

[Ibrahim_Ezzeddine.]

Basically, for NH4+, is the electron that wants to get rid of it comes from the nitrogen, or is it the electron from the additional hydrogen ion that is bonded with it

[nitishroy]

I am surprised you deserve more than this, you are a awesome teacher I have seen ever 😊

[smpeerhome]

Cleared my doubte THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏🏻

[theexpectedflop]

the word 'ammonia' is shorter than 'ammonium', so NH3 is ammonia and NH4 is ammonium, the shorter word only has 3 hydrogens, and longer word has 4 hydrogens. thats how I avoid confusing them lol :)

[faroukmerouani]

will the NH3 mostly go to vapour phase? is this why its odour is strong?

[Suzuchikuma]

I thought you would explain the relative acidity or basicity for this conjugated system

[jaimeebg]

Hi, how can we understand the lost electron and the positive charge? is it still in the vicinity of the molecule waiting to be ceded?

[nosuffering]

Hi, Dr. B, so you know how HBr is hydrogen bromide, shouldn't it be hydrogen monobromide if they are both nonmetals. This is furthered as it forms a covalent compound and should be named like a binary covalent compound instead of an ionic compound in accordance to the stock system of nomenclature.

[شیخیاسرالدوسری-نه]

Apart from the NH3 and NH4 element, what other elements do we have, gas and throat

[alenz]

Could you please, show how to solve the thermochemical equations ?

[thebestofallworlds]

1:37 why is it pushing down the hydrogen atoms?

[rzsa]

Since ammonia has delocalised electrons since it is not bonded to Hydrogen, does that make it a conductor of electricity? (like graphite)

[mokaif]

Your explanation is too good thank you so much 💜💜

[rian]

Since ammonia is a gas, can it escape from water body to the atmosphere? I have fish pond and I always confuse about it.

[graceewang]

I have a question how fid you ginf nitrogene 5?

[mastermafia]

ammonium has valency +1 and ammonia is in octate state so 0, am i correct?

[rickgrimes]

Thank you Doctor Wayne.
(You will make a worthy villain of Doctor Strange)