Answer: 8 dots would be needed to represent the outer electrons for an atom of neon in an electron dot diagram.
Step-by-step explanation:
Electron-dot diagram is also known as Lewis-dot structure. It shows the bonding between the atoms of a molecule and it also shows the unpaired electrons present in the molecule. The valence electrons are represented by 'dot'.
As atomic number of neon is 10 and we know that neon has 10 electrons with electronic configuration of 2,8 and thus has '8' valence electrons.
Therefore, the total number of valence electrons is 8 and 8 dots would be needed to represent the outer electrons for an atom of neon in an electron dot diagram.