Nitric oxide has 11 valence electrons in total. What does that odd count tell you before you draw anything?

1. Nitrogen brings 5 valence electrons and oxygen brings 6. 2. Adding them gives 11 valence electrons in total. 3. Electrons pair up in lone pairs and in bonds, so an octet everywhere needs an even count. 4. An odd count of 11 cannot be split into pairs with none left over. 5. One electron must therefore stay unpaired, which makes the molecule a free radical. 6. So at least one atom finishes with fewer than eight valence electrons. 7. Claiming every atom reaches an octet ignores the parity of the electron count. 8. A full charge would change the electron count, but nitric oxide is a neutral molecule. _Source: OpenStax Chemistry (CC BY 4.0), Chs 7 and 17, section 7.3 Lewis Symbols and Structures_