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The valence is the combining capacity of an atom of a given element, determined by the number of hydrogen atoms that it combines with. In methane, carbon has a valence of 4; in ammonia, nitrogen has a valence of 3; in water, oxygen has a valence of 2; and in hydrogen chloride, chlorine has a valence of 1. Chlorine, as it has a valence of one ...
For example, each molecule of oxygen (O 2) is composed of two oxygen atoms. Therefore, the atomicity of oxygen is 2. [1] In older contexts, atomicity is sometimes equivalent to valency. Some authors also use the term to refer to the maximum number of valencies observed for an element. [2]
Oxygen gas is the second most common component of the Earth's atmosphere, taking up 20.8% of its volume and 23.1% of its mass (some 10 15 tonnes). [19] [70] [d] Earth is unusual among the planets of the Solar System in having such a high concentration of oxygen gas in its atmosphere: Mars (with 0.1% O 2 by volume) and Venus have much less. The O
The bonding in carbon dioxide (CO 2): all atoms are surrounded by 8 electrons, fulfilling the octet rule.. The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that reflects the theory that main-group elements tend to bond in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell, giving it the same electronic configuration as a noble gas.
For example, 50 g of zinc will react with oxygen to produce 62.24 g of zinc oxide, implying that the zinc has reacted with 12.24 g of oxygen (from the Law of conservation of mass): the equivalent weight of zinc is the mass which will react with eight grams of oxygen, hence 50 g × 8 g/12.24 g = 32.7 g.
An atom with a closed shell of valence electrons (corresponding to a noble gas configuration) tends to be chemically inert. Atoms with one or two valence electrons more than a closed shell are highly reactive due to the relatively low energy to remove the extra valence electrons to form a positive ion. An atom with one or two electrons fewer ...
The term inert gas is context-dependent because several of the inert gases, including nitrogen and carbon dioxide, can be made to react under certain conditions. [1] [2] Purified argon gas is the most commonly used inert gas due to its high natural abundance (78.3% N 2, 1% Ar in air) [3] and low relative cost.
After the electrons have been assigned according to the vertical red lines on the formula, the total number of valence electrons that now "belong" to each atom is subtracted from the number N of valence electrons of the neutral atom (such as 5 for nitrogen in group 15) to yield that atom's oxidation state.