The less valence electrons there are, the less stable the atom becomes, causing it to react with other atoms. More valence electrons adds mass to the atom , making it less reactive.
How do valence electrons affect reactivity?
Within each group of the metals the reactivity tends to increase down the group . As the valence electrons become less bound to the nucleus so they will be easily removed and the atomic size also increases as the number of shells increases by 1 down the group.
Does more valence electrons mean more reactive?
An atom with one or two valence electrons more than a closed shell is highly reactive , because the extra valence electrons are easily removed to form a positive ion.
Are elements with less valence electrons more reactive?
An atom with a closed shell of valence electrons (corresponding to a noble gas configuration) tends to be chemically inert. Atoms with one or two valence electrons more than a closed shell are highly reactive due to the relatively low energy to remove the extra valence electrons to form a positive ion.
Why are elements with valence electrons highly reactive?
Elements in the same group of the periodic table have the same number of valence electrons. These are the electrons in the outer energy level of the atoms that can be involved in chemical reactions. ... All the elements in group 1 have just one valence electron . This makes them very reactive.
Is an element with 8 valence electrons reactive?
The octet rule states that all atoms want to have 8 valence electrons. An atom with 8 valence electrons is considered to be stable/unreactive .
Do valence electrons increase reactivity?
The number of valence electrons in atoms may cause them to be unreactive or highly reactive. For those atoms that are reactive, the number of valence electrons also determines whether they tend to give up or gain electrons in chemical reactions.
How many valence electrons are needed to form a non reactive element?
The octet rule states that atoms react to form compounds that allow them to have eight valence electrons like the noble gases, which are the least reactive elements.
Why do transition metals have 2 valence electrons?
Most transition metals have 2 valence electrons. Valence electrons are the sum total of all the electrons in the highest energy level (principal quantum number n). Most transition metals have an electron configuration that is ns2(n−1)d , so those ns2 electrons are the valence electrons.
What makes an electron reactive?
The number of electrons in the outermost shell of an atom determines its reactivity . Noble gases have low reactivity because they have full electron shells. Halogens are highly reactive because they readily gain an electron to fill their outermost shell.
Are elements with 3 valence electrons reactive?
All group 13 elements have three valence electrons and are fairly reactive . All are solids at room temperature. Group 14 is called the carbon group. Carbon (C) is a nonmetal.
Which valence electrons are more reactive?
This tendency is called the octet rule, because the bonded atoms have eight valence electrons. The most reactive kind of metallic element is a metal from Group 1 (e.g., sodium or potassium). An atom in Group 1 has only a single valence electron.
Why are alkali metals so reactive?
All the alkali metals—lithium, sodium, potassium, and so on—have only one electron in their valence shell. Because this one electron is likely to be far from the nucleus, it feels little attraction to the atom. The result: Alkali metals tend to lose this electron when they participate in reactions .
What is the least reactive element?
Noble gases are the least reactive of all known elements. That’s because with eight valence electrons, their outer energy levels are full. The only exception is helium, which has just two electrons.
Which element are highly reactive?
Fluorine (F) is the most reactive metal. Group 1 metals are the most reactive metals as they have only one electron in their outer shell which is easy to lose. The two most reactive groups of elements are the alkali metals and the halogens because of their valence electrons.
Which is more reactive element?
The most reactive elementary group is alkali metals (situated far apart from intermediate metals and noble gases). Cesium is second from the bottom of this group, has 6 shells of electrons, and it matches the features of a reactive atom, making it the most reactive element.
