Answer to Question #184910 in Inorganic Chemistry for jurin junior

Question

a. Explain what is the valence electron is and why the lewis symbol for an atom only accounts for electrons in the valence shell of the atom

b. sketch the lewis dot structure for each of the following compounds and state the molecular geometry.

i. BeF₂

ii. BCI₃

iii. CCI₄

iv. PBr₅

c. what is the octet rule and how it is achieved?

Answer 1

Q184910

a) Explain what is the valence electrons and why the lewis symbol for an atom only accounts for electrons in the valence shell of the atom.

Answer: Valence electrons are the electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom and which are responsible for the chemical properties of the atom.

The chemical reactivity of an atom of the element depends solely on the number of valence electrons and not on the inner electrons, that is why Lewis symbols for an atom take into account only the valence shell electrons of the atom.