In which form urea provides nitrogen?

Solution (By Examveda Team)

Urea is a nitrogenous fertilizer with the chemical formula CO(NH₂)₂.

In this compound, nitrogen exists in the amide form (–NH₂).

When urea is applied to the soil, it does not immediately release ammonical nitrogen.

Instead, it first undergoes enzymatic hydrolysis by the enzyme urease, producing ammonia (NH₃) and then ammonium (NH₄⁺).

These are forms of ammonical nitrogen that plants can absorb.

So, while plants eventually take up nitrogen in the ammonical form, the form in which urea initially provides nitrogen is the amide form.

Why some people think the answer is Option B (Ammonical form):

Because urea is rapidly converted in soil to ammonium, many people associate it directly with the ammonical form.

However, the question is about the form in which urea provides nitrogen — not what it becomes later.

So technically and accurately, the correct answer is amide form.

Conclusion: Urea provides nitrogen in the amide form, which is later converted in the soil to ammonical form for plant uptake.

Hence, the correct answer is Option A: Amide form.