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If an atom has 5 electrons in the 3rd orbital, what "time" on a clock would the 5th

electron be at?

User Sphinx
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1 Answer

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Answer:

The 5th electron can be placed at either the 12, 9, 3, or 6 O'clock locations

Step-by-step explanation:

The steps to writing the Lewis symbol of an atom includes;

1) The number of valence electrons for the element is determined based on the position of the element on the periodic table which arranges the elements in groups depending on their valency electrons

2) Place dots one at a time, at the top bottom , left and right of the chemical symbol of the element, with a maximum of 4 dots, in the order of your choice

However, ensure that elements with less than four valence electrons have the electrons placed at the above described locations, with a maximum of one in each location

3) Where the valence electrons are more than 4, the extra electrons are again shared in the four locations to form a pair with the previous four dots

Therefore, whereby the element has 5 valence electrons as in the question, the fifth electron can either be at the top, left, right or bottom locations, corresponding to a 12, 9, 3, or 6 O'clock locations.

User Changed
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