Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Multiple Choice
How many valence electrons does a chlorine (Cl) atom have?
A
5
B
7
C
6
D
8
Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the group number of chlorine (Cl) in the periodic table. Chlorine is in Group 17 (also known as Group VIIA).
Recall that elements in Group 17 have 7 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, which participate in chemical bonding.
Confirm that chlorine's electron configuration ends in 3s^2 3p^5, indicating 2 electrons in the 3s subshell and 5 electrons in the 3p subshell, totaling 7 valence electrons.
Conclude that chlorine has 7 valence electrons based on its group number and electron configuration.