Valence Electrons

The valence electrons are the electrons in the last shell or energy level of an
atom. They do show a repeating or periodic pattern. The valence electrons
increase in number as you go across a period. Then when you start the new
period, the number drops back down to one and starts increasing again. For
example, when you go across the table from carbon to nitrogen to oxygen,
the number of valence electrons increases from 4 to 5 to 6. As we go from
fluorine to neon to sodium, the number of valence electrons increases from 7
to 8 and then drops down to 1 when we start the new period with sodium

A quick way to determine the number of valence electrons for a

representative element is to look at which group is it in. Elements in group
Ia have 1 valence electron. Elements in group IIa have 2 valence electrons.
Can you guess how many valence electrons elements in group VIa have? If
you guessed 6 valence electrons, then you are correct! The only group of
representative elements that this method doesn't work for is group 0. Those
elements certainly have more than 0 valence electrons; in fact, all of them
except for helium have 8 valence electrons. Why doesn't helium have 8
valence electrons? Think for a moment about how many electrons helium
has - it has a total of only two electrons, so helium only has 2 valence
electrons.

So generally speaking, the number of valence electrons stays the same as

you go up or down a group, but they increase as you go from left to right
across the periodic table. The preceding statement works very well for the
representative elements, but it comes a bit short of the truth when you start
talking about the transition elements.

For a chemist, the valence electrons are quite possibly the most important
electrons an atom has. "Why the valence electrons?", you might ask. Well,
since the valence electrons are the electrons in the highest energy level, they
are the most exposed of all the electrons ... and, consequently, they are the
electrons that get most involved in chemical reactions. Chemists use a
notation called electron dot diagrams, also known as Lewis diagrams, to
show how many valence electrons a particular element has. An electron dot
diagram consists of the element's symbol surrounded by dots that represent
the valence electrons. Typically the dots are drawn as if there is a square
surrounding the element symbol with up to two dots per side. (An element
will never have more than eight valence electrons.)
Emp ir ical For mu la
In chemistry, the empirical formula of a chemical compound is a simple expression of the
relative number of each type of atom (called a chemical element) in it. An empirical
formula makes no reference to isomerism, structure, or absolute number of atoms.
Empirical formulae are the standard for ionic compounds, such as CaCl2, and for
macromolecules, such as SiO2. The term empirical refers to the process of elemental
analysis, a technique of analytical chemistry used to determine the relative percent
composition of a pure chemical substance by element.

In contrast, the molecular formula identifies the absolute number of atoms of such
element to be found in each discrete molecule of that compound.

For example, n-hexane, a chemical compound has the molecular formula

CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3, implying that it has a straight chain structure, 6 carbon
atoms, and 14 hydrogen atoms. Hexane's molecular formula is C6H14, and its empirical
formula would be C3H7 showing a C:H ratio of 3:7.
Per centa ge Composition

How to Calculate the Percentage Composition of a Chemical

Compound?

Example:
What is the percentage of the various elements in Sodium
Carbonate [Na2CO3] ?
Given Atomic Weights: C = 12 ; O = 16 ; Na = 23

The first step is to calculate the Molecular Weight (or the

Formula Weight) of the chemical compound by adding the
atomic weights of the atoms (elements) that constitute the
compound.
Molecular weight of Na2CO3
= (2 x Atomic weight of Na) + Atomic weight of C + (3 x Atomic
weight of O)
= (2 x 23) + 12 + (3 x 16)
= 46 + 12 + 48 = 106

Now, 106 grams of Sodium Carbonate [Na2CO3] contain 46

grams of Sodium [Na], 12 grams of Carbon [C], and 48 grams
of Oxygen [O].

So,
Percentage of Sodium [Na] in Sodium Carbonate [Na2CO3] =
46/106 x 100 = 43.40%.

Naming Compound
Before naming a compound, you have to figure out what kind
of compound it is. We will consider three types:

Ionic Compounds Without a Transition Metal.

Ionic compounds are formed when a metal gives up its

electrons to a non-metal. Basically if the compound contains a
metal, it is ionic. But there are different sets of rules for
transition metals. A transition metal is an element with an
atomic number of 21 to 30, 39 to 48 or 57 to 80.
a. So for a compound with any other metal, apply these
rules:
The metal ion's name does not change regardless of charge
The non-metal's name ends in ide

b. In going backwards (from name to formula), we will

have more fun. In such a case the total charge of the (+) and (-)
ions in the compound has to be ZERO.

c. Polyatomic Ions

When metals are bonded to polyatomic ions, which consist of

two or more atoms with one overall charge, the same rules
apply, but you have to learn the names and charges of common
polyatomic ions.

2. Ionic Compounds With a Transition Metal.

The only difference here is that we have to specify the charge

of the transition metal ion by using a Roman numeral, and
keep in mind that a transition metal is an element with an
atomic number of 21 to 30, 39 to 48 or 57 to 80.

3. Covalent Compounds. These are formed from non-metals

that share electrons. Because there are many sharing
possibilities between two non-metals, the formula cannot be
guessed unless we have a naming system that reveals the
number of atoms involved.