Question

Nitrogen:
A. Supports combustion
B. Allows combustion
C. Supports or does not allow combustion
D. Neither supports nor allows combustion

Answer 1

Hint: We know that nitrogen is a colorless gas. It is also tasteless and odorless gas. It makes up volume of $78.09\% $. It is not flammable. It is not heavy as air and mildly water-soluble. It is employed as inert gas but not completely inert. Nitrogen is found in mineral deposits of nitre (or) saltpetre.

Complete step by step answer:
We have to remember that the Nitrogen diatomic molecules present in air do not support combustion until the temperature of combustion increases to a high degree like greater than thousand degrees Celsius.
For temperatures of low combustion, Nitrogen is used as a cooling element inside the combustion chamber. It does not take place in the reaction; but it absorbs the heat generated from fuel reaction, that decreases the temperature of the reaction.
Fuel combustion with pure oxygen forms high power output and elevated combustion temperatures, when compared to combustion of fuel with ambient air that contains nitrogen and carbon Dioxide to decrease the temperature.
We know that nitrogen is a highly reactive gas, but it neither support (nor) permit combustion because seventy eight percent of the atmosphere of earth is nitrogen. The percent of oxygen in the atmosphere is twenty-one. If it combines with nitrogen in the combustion reaction, there wouldn’t be any left for breathing of oxygen. But, in certain cases, nitrogen could combust in rare circumstances such as thunderstorms producing nitrogen oxides such as:
${N_2} + {O_2} \to 2NO$
${N_2} + 2{O_2} \to 2N{O_2}$
So, nitrogen neither supports (nor) permits combustion.

So, the correct answer is Option D.

Note: We can form compounds of nitrogen by biological activity. It forms nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide with oxygen, with hydrogen nitrogen forms ammonia. Compounds of nitrogen are generally formed at moderate temperatures (or) high temperatures in the presence of catalyst. We can also use nitrogen in the form of ammonia and compounds based on ammonia as fertilizer.