How can I determine the number of valence electrons for an element?
October 14th, 2008
Chemistry Tutor Site-Problem
How can I determine the number of valence electrons for an element?
Chemistry Tutor Site-Answer
That is simple- Just write down the the electronic configuration of the atomic number of that element. And the number of electrons in the last shell are the valence electrons.
For eg: Na(Sodium) has the atomic number 11, now there are four shells in which the distribustion takes place- namely- K,L,M,N.These shells are also known as energy levels.
The max no of electrons in K is 2, In L is 8, M is 16 and finally in N its 32.
And you cant fill the next shell till the total number is completed in one shell.
There fore for Na the configuration is: K= 2 L= 8 M= 1
And hence the valence electron is 1. That is only one electron partcipates in bond formation and in chemical reactions.
Entry Filed under: Atomic Electron Confuguration
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed