Question

How many valence electrons does Ni have?

Answer 1

Hint: As we know that valence electrons are the electrons that are present in the outermost shell of an atom. If we have to find the valence electrons, then we must have to know the atomic number of that atom. We can use atomic numbers to write the electronic configuration and then find the electrons in the valence shell.

Complete step by step answer:
- We should understand the meaning of the term valence. It is basically the electrons in the valence shell of an atom called valence electrons.
- As we know that the atomic number of nickel is 28, and it has 2 electrons in the first shell (K) and eight electrons in the second shell (L), eight electrons in the third shell (M), two electrons in the fourth shell(N), that is basically valence shell. So, we can see that its electronic configuration is $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}3d^{8}4s^2$ . And we can say that there are two electrons in the valence shell.
- From the above discussion we can understand that nickel is having two electrons in its valence shell that makes it valence electrons. Hence, in this way we can calculate the number of valence electrons in an atom

Note: As we know that valency is the combining power of an element. It is found that elements in the same group have the same valence in the periodic table. Basically the valence of
an element is related to the electrons that are present in the outer shell.