what is the colorless, gaseous element that makes up four-fifths of the air
Nitrogen Nitrogenmakes up almost four fifths of the air we breathe, but being unreactive is not used in respiration at all - we simply breathe the nitrogen back out again, unchanged. However, nitrogen is essential for the growth of most living things, and is found as a vital ingredient of proteins. Under normal conditions nitrogen is a gas, composed of a simple diatomic molecule of formula N 2. It is colourless and odourless, but unlike its partner in the atmosphere, oxygen, forms triple bonds . This makes it one of the strongest chemical bonds known (DH dissociation = 944.7 kJ mol-1), and this is primarily responsible for the inertness of N 2. - Nitrogen is a chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number of 7. Under normal conditions nitrogen is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Nitrogen makes up around 78% of the air you breathe. Nitrogen is present in all living things, including the human body and plants. Nitrogen gas is used in food storage to keep packaged or bulk foods fresh. It is also used in the making of electronic parts, for industrial purposes and has many other useful applications.