The table shows the total number of electrons in Atom A and Atom B.

Atom Number of Electrons

A 11

B 17

Which statement is correct?

A will give up electrons to form bonds. B will give up electrons to form bonds. Both A and B will be chemically unreactive. Both A and B will gain electrons to become stable.

Question

Chemistry

Devon Soto

20 February, 14:51

The table shows the total number of electrons in Atom A and Atom B.

Atom Number of Electrons

A 11

B 17

Which statement is correct?

A will give up electrons to form bonds. B will give up electrons to form bonds. Both A and B will be chemically unreactive. Both A and B will gain electrons to become stable.

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Zain Parks · Answer 1

A will give up electrons to form bonds.

Step-by-step explanation:

The shell configuration of atoms is 2, 8, 8, 18, ...

Thus, an atom has a filled shell when it has two electrons or ten (2 + 8) electrons or 18 (2 + 8 + 8) electrons.

A has 11 electrons, one more than necessary for a filled shell. It will give up that electron to reach a filled shell.

Option B is wrong. B has 17 electrons, one less than is needed for a complete shell. It will gain electrons to reach a filled shell.

Option C is wrong. Both A and B will be chemically reactive, because each is only one electron short of a complete shell.

Option D is wrong. Both A and B can't gain electrons. You can't create electrons out of nothing. If one atom gains electrons, another atom must lose them.