Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Multiple Choice
How many valence electrons does tellurium (Te) have?
A
4
B
2
C
6
D
8
Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the group number of tellurium (Te) in the periodic table. Tellurium is in group 16 (also known as group VIA).
Recall that elements in group 16 have 6 valence electrons because the group number corresponds to the number of valence electrons for main-group elements.
Understand that valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost shell of an atom that participate in chemical bonding.
Confirm that tellurium's electron configuration ends with 5s and 5p orbitals, which together contain 6 electrons in the outermost shell.
Conclude that tellurium has 6 valence electrons based on its group number and electron configuration.