Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
For example, the electronic configuration of phosphorus (P) is 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 3 so that there are 5 valence electrons (3s 2 3p 3), corresponding to a maximum valence for P of 5 as in the molecule PF 5; this configuration is normally abbreviated to [Ne] 3s 2 3p 3, where [Ne] signifies the core electrons whose configuration is identical ...
Here [Ne] refers to the core electrons which are the same as for the element neon (Ne), the last noble gas before phosphorus in the periodic table. The valence electrons (here 3s 2 3p 3) are written explicitly for all atoms. Electron configurations of elements beyond hassium (element 108) have never been measured; predictions are used below.
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.
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.
Count valence electrons. Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons; each oxygen has 6, for a total of (6 × 2) + 5 = 17. The ion has a charge of −1, which indicates an extra electron, so the total number of electrons is 18. Connect the atoms by single bonds. Each oxygen must be bonded to the nitrogen, which uses four electrons—two in each bond.
Lithium has two electrons in the 1s-subshell and one in the (higher-energy) 2s-subshell, so its configuration is written 1s 2 2s 1 (pronounced "one-s-two, two-s-one"). Phosphorus (atomic number 15) is as follows: 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 3. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used.
However, there are a number of exceptions to the rule; for example palladium (atomic number 46) has no electrons in the fifth shell, unlike other atoms with lower atomic number. The elements past 108 have such short half-lives that their electron configurations have not yet been measured, and so predictions have been inserted instead.
Elements in the same column have the same number of valence electrons and have analogous valence electron configurations: these columns are called groups. The single exception is helium, which has two valence electrons like beryllium and magnesium, but is typically placed in the column of neon and argon to emphasise that its outer shell is full.