Table of Contents
How does valence electrons affect reactivity?
The number of valence electrons in atoms may cause them to be unreactive or highly reactive. For those atoms that are reactive, the number of valence electrons also determines whether they tend to give up or gain electrons in chemical reactions. Metals, which easily give up electrons, can conduct electricity.
Why are elements with more valence electrons less reactive?
Within each Group of nonmetals, reactivity decreases from top to bottom, because the valence electrons are at progressively higher energies and the atoms do not gain much stability by gaining electrons.
What happens if an element has one valence electron?
A: An atom of a group 1 element such as sodium has just one valence electron. It is “eager” to give up this electron in order to have a full outer energy level, because this will give it the most stable arrangement of electrons.
Is an element more reactive if it has more valence electrons?
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.
Why are some elements more reactive?
An element’s reactivity depends on how its electrons are arranged. Conversely, if the outer shell is occupied by just one solitary electron (ie sodium) this electron can readily be shared with another atom, making it highly reactive. …
Do more valence electrons increase reactivity?
Why are elements with more shells more reactive?
The reactivity of group 1 metals increases as we go down the periodic table because as we go down the group the electrons are further away from the nulceus as the number of shells increase and therefore the attraction the electron feels from the nucleus decreases due to the nucleus being more shielded by the increasing …
Does more electrons mean more reactive?
The larger an atom is, the more reactive it will be. It helps to think about the size of an atom with the location of the electrons and nucleus in mind. If electrons can leave more easily, then the atom is more likely to react.
Does more valence electrons mean more reactive?
An atom with one or two valence electrons more than a closed shell is highly reactive, because the extra valence electrons are easily removed to form a positive ion.
Why are some elements more reactive than other elements in the same period?
The reason that different elements have different levels of reactivity has to do with the structure of the atoms themselves. An atom is made of protons, neutrons and electrons. The neutrons and protons are bundled up in the nucleus or center of the atom. It might help to think of electrons as social little creatures.