Nitrogen is a chemical element with symbol N and atomic number 7. It is the lightest pnictogen and at room temperature, it is a transparent, odorless diatomic gas. Nitrogen is a common element in the universe, estimated at about seventh in total abundance in the Milky Way and the Solar System.
Three reasons Nitrogen stands out
1
Makes up most of Earth's atmosphere.
2
Its liquid form is used for rapid cooling.
3
It is an essential building block of amino acids, proteins, and DNA in all living things.
Breaking the strongest everyday bond
Pairs of nitrogen atoms fill most of the atmosphere, held together by a stubborn triple bond. Life cannot use that reservoir directly, so microbes, lightning, and industry must “fix” nitrogen into reactive compounds. Those compounds feed crops, build proteins, and can also become powerful explosives.
Recognizing Nitrogen in Elementle
If Nitrogen is the mystery element, guesses below atomic number 7 point up and guesses above it point down. Its symbol is N: a green letter matches the same position in that symbol, while a yellow letter belongs in another position.
The family clue turns green for nonmetal guesses. Compare Carbon (C), number 6 and Oxygen (O), number 8: they share the family clue, but their atomic numbers and symbols help you tell them apart.
Values are reference data, not a specification for every temperature, pressure, or allotrope. Unknown properties are left unavailable. Superheavy-element predictions remain uncertain.
The introduction and original editorial story are adapted from Wikipedia contributors via Periodic-Table-JSON. Element descriptions and their adaptations are available under CC BY-SA 3.0. Numerical attributes use the PubChem periodic-table dataset, retrieved September 22, 2026.