🥼organic chemistry review

Nitrogen rule

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025

Definition

The Nitrogen Rule in organic chemistry is a guideline stating that organic compounds with an odd number of nitrogen atoms will have an odd molecular mass. This rule is useful for determining the possible presence of nitrogen in a compound based on its molecular ion peak in mass spectrometry.