The total number of covalent bonds present in the `NO_(2)^(+)` ion is :

Options

A. three
B. two
C. four
D. six

Explanation

To determine the total number of covalent bonds present in the \( NO_2^+ \) ion, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the Lewis Structure of \( NO_2^+ \)
- The nitrogen (N) atom has 5 valence electrons.
- The \( NO_2^+ \) ion has a positive charge, which means it has lost one electron. Therefore, nitrogen effectively has 4 valence electrons available for bonding.

### Step 2: Count the Valence Electrons
- Oxygen (O) has 6 valence electrons. Since there are two oxygen atoms, the total number of valence electrons from oxygen is \( 2 \times 6 = 12 \).
- Adding the valence electrons from nitrogen (4) gives us a total of \( 4 + 12 = 16 \) valence electrons.

### Step 3: Distribute Electrons to Form Bonds
- Place nitrogen in the center and connect it to the two oxygen atoms.
- Each oxygen atom will form a bond with nitrogen. To satisfy the octet rule, nitrogen will share its electrons with the oxygen atoms.

### Step 4: Count the Covalent Bonds
- In the structure, nitrogen forms:
- One double bond with one oxygen atom (sharing 4 electrons).
- One single bond with the other oxygen atom (sharing 2 electrons).
- Therefore, the total number of covalent bonds is:
- 1 double bond (2 pairs of shared electrons) + 1 single bond (1 pair of shared electrons) = 4 covalent bonds.

### Conclusion
The total number of covalent bonds present in the \( NO_2^+ \) ion is **4**.