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they lose one electron

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Q: How many valence electrons do alkali metals lose to obtain an octet?
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How many valence electrons must calcium lose or gain to have 8 valence electrons?

It loses 2 electrons to obtain the argon configuration of 8 valence electrons.


What happens to the electrons in the outer shell when the alkali metals react with other elements?

the alkali metals have 1 electron in their outer most shell. in order to obtain a full outer shell they have to lose this electron. so when they react with another metal they lose this electron and the outer most shell.


Have two valence electrons and get to a stable electron configuration by using two electrons?

an element with 2 valence electrons can obtain a stable electron configuration by "kicking out" two electrons to have the same electron config as the noble gas in the previous period


Why are metals good conductors of electricity?

Because metals release negative ions which conduct electricity. Because of the force of attraction between valence electron and also because the free electrons can move freely through the lattice carrying a charge.


What is valency in chemistry?

In chemistry, valence usually refers to the valence electrons (VE), which are the outer electrons of an atom, ion, or compound. The most valence electrons any single atom can have is 8, allowing for a full octet. (Note: This "octet rule" generally does NOT apply to transition metals, lanthanides, or actinides because of their d and f energy sub-levels.) The valence electrons determine many of the characteristics of the atom, especially bond types and reactivity. For example, sodium (Na) has the atomic number 11. Its electron configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 (11 electrons). There is only one electron in sodium's outer shell, meaning there is only on evalence electron. The same goes for the remaining alkali metals (H, Li, K, etc.). The number of valence electrons can easily be determined by examining the periodic table of the elements. Group 1A (alkali) have one VE, Group 2A (alkaline) have two VE, Group 3A (aka group 13) have 3, 4A has 4... etc. Remember, this only applies to atoms with s and p outer shells. Because having eight valence electrons is desirable/ most stable, Na has the ability to give away its single valence electron to be more like neon (Ne), which has only 10 electrons. For this reason Na will give its electron to another atom in need, such as chlorine (Cl), with only 7 VE. Through this "ionic bond", both the Na and the Cl obtain a full octet.

Related questions

The valency of oxygen is?

two , two valence electron Oxygen has two valence electrons since it must gain two in order to obtain 8 electrons in its outermost energy level. However, the number of valence electrons is six--not two. The valence and valence electrons are only the same for metals in Groups 1, 2, and 3.


What is the difference from a ionic bond and a covalent bond?

A covalent bond is formed when two or more non-metallic atoms share a pair of valence electrons.Non-metal atoms will want to share electrons in order to obtain a full valence energy level.Ionic bonds results when electrons are transferred from metal atoms to non-metal atomsRecall that metals are on the left side of the periodic table (alkali metals and alkaline earth metals) and non-metals are on the right side (oxygen's family and the halogens, for example)The metal atoms will lose valence electrons to become positive ions (cations) while the non-metal atoms will gain electrons to form negative ions (anions).


How many valence electrons must calcium lose or gain to have 8 valence electrons?

It loses 2 electrons to obtain the argon configuration of 8 valence electrons.


What happens to the electrons in the outer shell when the alkali metals react with other elements?

the alkali metals have 1 electron in their outer most shell. in order to obtain a full outer shell they have to lose this electron. so when they react with another metal they lose this electron and the outer most shell.


When the outermost enegery level of an atom is full it tends to be what?

The outermost shell in an atom is also known as the valence shell. When an atom is able to donate or obtain electrons to obtain a noble gas electron configuration, it is said to be stable. Generally, metals are electron donors and non metals are electron acceptors.


Have two valence electrons and get to a stable electron configuration by using two electrons?

an element with 2 valence electrons can obtain a stable electron configuration by "kicking out" two electrons to have the same electron config as the noble gas in the previous period


Why are metals good conductors of electricity?

Because metals release negative ions which conduct electricity. Because of the force of attraction between valence electron and also because the free electrons can move freely through the lattice carrying a charge.


What is valency in chemistry?

In chemistry, valence usually refers to the valence electrons (VE), which are the outer electrons of an atom, ion, or compound. The most valence electrons any single atom can have is 8, allowing for a full octet. (Note: This "octet rule" generally does NOT apply to transition metals, lanthanides, or actinides because of their d and f energy sub-levels.) The valence electrons determine many of the characteristics of the atom, especially bond types and reactivity. For example, sodium (Na) has the atomic number 11. Its electron configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 (11 electrons). There is only one electron in sodium's outer shell, meaning there is only on evalence electron. The same goes for the remaining alkali metals (H, Li, K, etc.). The number of valence electrons can easily be determined by examining the periodic table of the elements. Group 1A (alkali) have one VE, Group 2A (alkaline) have two VE, Group 3A (aka group 13) have 3, 4A has 4... etc. Remember, this only applies to atoms with s and p outer shells. Because having eight valence electrons is desirable/ most stable, Na has the ability to give away its single valence electron to be more like neon (Ne), which has only 10 electrons. For this reason Na will give its electron to another atom in need, such as chlorine (Cl), with only 7 VE. Through this "ionic bond", both the Na and the Cl obtain a full octet.


How do you calculate valency of an element?

The number of valence electrons is easily found. You can take a look at the periodic table, ignore the transistion metals and count. The first column has one valence electron, the second column has two and so on. The noble gases have eight--which makes sense because they tend to be chemically stable (fulfilling the octet rule).


How many electrons and protons does thulium have?

Thulium has an electronic configuration of [Xe] 4f136s2 You could count either 2 or 15. The concept of valence electrons is almost meaningless when applied to the lanthanides. Thulium is a typical member of these and has one common oxidation state, +3


When moving down a group ( family) in the periodic table the number of valence electrons?

When moving down a group, the number of valence electrons do not change. This similarity yields the elements in the same groups to have same chemical properties. For example, elements in group 17 obtain one electron to stabilize as -1 ion.In a group, all the elements have a same number of valence electrons. So their chemical properties are equal. But the physical properties vary.Valence electrons are the electrons in outermost shell.The valence electrons remain same in a group. For example-Group-1 elements have 1 valence electron.


Why do metals lose electrons and non metals gain electrons?

Metals have few electrons in their outer shells and therefore lose these electrons to become more stable. For example sodium (in group 1 ) has one electron in its outer shell, it loses this very easily becoming energetically more stable in the process. Non metals do the opposite. e.g. Chlorine (in group 7) has 7 electrons in its outer shell. It will gain one electron very easily to obtain a full outer shell... becoming energetically more stable in the process.