Unlike phosphorus, nitrogen shows little tendency for catenation. Or Phosphorus shows greater tendency for catenation than nitrogen.

Unlike phosphorus, nitrogen shows little tendency for catenation. Or

1.	Unlike phosphorus, nitrogen shows little tendency for catenation. Or Phosphorus shows greater tendency for catenation than nitrogen.
Answer» Solution :Due to smaller size, the lone pairs of electronc on the two N-atoms repel the bond pair of N-N bond. In CONTRAST, because of COMPARATIVELY larger size of P, the lone pairs of electrons on the two P atoms do not repel the bond pair of the P-P bond to the same extent. As a result, N-N single bond is WEAKER `(159kJmol^(-1))` than P-P single bond `(213kJmol^(-1))`. Consequently, NITROGEN shows little tendency for catenation or PHOSPHORUS has greater tendency for catenation.