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Phosphorus is classified as a nonmetal and holds 5 valence electrons. The valence electrons of phosphorus can be determined by two methods: the first method is by referring to its position – in which group it lies – on the periodic table, and the second method is to use its electron configuration.
Methods
Using periodic table
Get the periodic table having the chemical elements marked on it as mentioned above.
Now mark the location of phosphorus on the periodic table.
Next, mark the group number of phosphorus on the periodic table.
The valence electrons of each main-group element can be determined by the column in which it is located.
(i.e., all group 1 elements have 1 valence electron, all group 2 elements have 2 valence electrons, skip the transition metals… then, all group 13 elements have 3 valence electrons, all group 14 elements have 4 valence electrons, and so on up to group 18 elements)
Since phosphorus is in group 15, it has 5 valence electrons.
Using electron configuration
- First, write electron configuration of phosphorus
The electron configuration of phosphorus is [Ne] 3s2 3p3.
- Second, find highest energy level in electron configuration
In the above electron configuration, the highest energy level (3) is marked with green color.
- Finally, count electrons of that energy level
The 3rd energy level contains 3s and 3p subshells. There are 2 electrons in the 3s subshell and 3 electrons in the 3p subshell. So phosphorus has a total of 2 + 3 = 5 valence electrons.
Next: Sulfur valence electrons
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External links
- https://socratic.org/questions/how-many-valence-electrons-does-phosphorus-have
- https://www.sciencecoverage.com/2021/01/phosphorus-valence-electrons.html
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/how-many-valence-electrons-are-in-a-phosphorus-atom.html
- https://lambdageeks.com/phosphorus-valence-electrons/
- https://www.turito.com/ask-a-doubt/Chemistry-how-many-valence-electrons-does-phosphorus-have-5-valence-electron-3-valence-electron-2-valence-electro-q517a0f1f
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Learnool.com was founded by Deep Rana, who is a mechanical engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. He has a good conceptual knowledge on different educational topics and he provides the same on this website. He loves to learn something new everyday and believes that the best utilization of free time is developing a new skill.