Final answer:
Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons with 3 unpaired, Silicon has 4 valence electrons with no unpaired electrons, and Chlorine has 7 valence electrons with 1 unpaired electron.
Step-by-step explanation:
For each element, the number of valence electrons, core electrons, and unpaired electrons in the ground state are as follows:
- Nitrogen (N): Nitrogen has a total of 5 valence electrons, 2 in the 2s subshell and 3 in the 2p subshell. It has 2 core electrons in the 1s subshell. There are 3 unpaired electrons, one in each of the three 2p orbitals.
- Silicon (Si): Silicon, analogous to carbon in terms of electron configuration, has 4 valence electrons in the 3s and 3p subshells with no unpaired electrons since they are all paired in the 3s and one of the 3p orbitals. Silicon has 10 core electrons in the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells.
- Chlorine (Cl): Chlorine has 7 valence electrons, with 5 in the 3p subshell and 2 in the 3s subshell. There are 10 core electrons in the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells, and there is 1 unpaired electron in the 3p subshell.