Counting Valence

Electrons
At the end of determine the
the lesson, 1 number of valence
you should electrons of an atom.
be able to:
The Periodic Table of Elements
• Valence electrons are electrons located
in the outermost shell of the atom.
• These electrons participate in the
formation of chemical bonds.
• The periodic table provides information
on the element such as its mass number
and atomic number.
 The Periodic Table of Elements

The periodic table of elements, where rows are labelled based on IUPAC rules.
The Periodic Table of Elements
• The periodic table can be divided
into different partitions according
to their electron configurations.
• These are representative
elements, transition metals,
lanthanides, and actinides.
Representative elements
• The representative (or main group)
elements are those in the s- and p-blocks.
• The elements here have an s or p subshell as
its outermost shell.
• The valence electrons of representative
elements are those present in the electron
shell having the highest principal quantum
number, n.
 Representative elements
• For example, Silicon has a condensed electron
configuration of 1s22s22p63s23p2. Its outermost shell has
an n of 3, you can count all electrons with n = 3. Therefore
it has 4 valence electrons (i.e. 3s23p2).

• Similarly for Beryllium with a condensed electron

configuration of 1s2 2s2, the outermost shell has n of 2
therefore it only has 2 valence electrons (i.e. 2s2)
CAS group no. IUPAC group no. No. of valence electrons
1A 1 1
2A 2 2
3A 13 3
4A 14 4
5A 15 5
6A 16 6
7A 17 7
8A 18 8
Group number systems and their respective number of
valence electrons of representative elements
Transition metals
• The transition metals are those in the d-block.
Elements in this block have their d subshells
being filled.
• They are the elements belonging to groups 3 to 12
• Their electrons behave differently, such as the
electrons present in the largest d-block for the
atom may add in to the total number of valence
electrons from the largest orbitals of s and p.
CAS group IUPAC First element of the No. of valence
no. group no. group electrons
3B 3 scandium 3
4B 4 titanium 4
5B 5 vanadium 5
6B 6 chromium 6
7B 7 manganese 7
8B 8 iron 3
8B 9 cobalt 3
8B 10 nickel 3
1B 11 copper 2
2B 12 zinc 2
Transition metals
• For example, zinc belongs to group 12 therefore it has two
valence electrons, copper belongs to group 11 therefore it
may have one to two valence electrons.
The Inner Transition Metals
• These elements, which are found under the main
body of the periodic table, are referred to as the
rare earth metals.
• These elements vary in oxidation states and are
all radioactive.
• Lanthanides are those elements that have their
4f orbitals being filled.
• Actinides are those elements having their 5f
orbitals filled.
How many valence
electrons does Ca has?
How many valence electrons does Ca has?

Step 1: Identify what is required to find in the problem

You are asked to determine the number of valence electrons in

Ca.
How many valence electrons does Ca has?

Step 2: Identify the given in the problem.

Ca is a representative element.
How many valence electrons does Ca has?

Step 3: Determine the group number of the given element.

Ca belongs to group 2A.

How many valence electrons does Ca has?

Step 4: Determine the number of valence electrons from its

group number.

Since Ca belongs to group 2A, it contains two valence

electrons.
Determining the Number of Valence Electrons of
Compounds
• To determine the number of valence electrons in a
compound, simply add the number of valence electrons in
each constituting atoms or elements.
How many valence electrons does NO2 has?
How many valence electrons does NO2 has?

Step 1: Identify what is required to find in the problem

You are asked to determine the number of valence electrons in

NO2.
How many valence electrons does NO2 has?

Step 2: Identify the given in the problem.

The compound, NO2, is made of 1 nitrogen and 2 oxygens.

How many valence electrons does NO2 has?

Step 3: Write the working equation.

How many valence electrons does NO2 has?

Step 4: Substitute the given values.

How many valence electrons does NO2 has?

Step 5: Find the answer.

 Valence electrons are electrons located in the outermost
1 shell of the atom of a given element.

The periodic table can be divided into representative

2 elements, transition metals, lanthanides, and
actinides.

The valence electrons of representative elements are

3 those present in the electron shell having the highest
principal quantum number, n.
 The valence electrons of main transition and inner
4 transition elements varies depending on the atom.

The valence electrons of a compound is simply the sum of

5 the valence electrons of each constituting atoms or
elements.
Determine the number of valence electrons of
the following elements.

1.O 6. H
2.Cl 7. Pb
3.C 8. Xe
4.Na 9. Li
5.Sc 10. Au
How do you determine the number of valence
electrons of a transition metal?
Brown T.L. et al. 2012. Chemistry: The Central Science. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Bettelheim F.A. et al. 2015. Introduction to General, Organic and Biochemistry. Boston: Cengage
Learning.

Ebbing, Darrell and Gammon, Steven. 2016. General Chemistry. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Reger D.L. et al. 2009. Chemistry: Principles and Practice. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Spencer J.N. et al. 2010. Chemistry: Structure and Dynamics. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.