Question

An atom has 8 electrons in its outermost shell. Explain its chemical behaviour.

Answer 1

• Atoms tend to be most stable when they have a complete outer shell with 8 electrons following the first, contributing to the "octet rule." The properties of an atom are determined by its outermost electrons or those in the highest energy orbital.
• This is due to the quantum nature of atoms, which arrange electrons into shells: the K shell has two electrons, the L shell has eight, and the third shell has 18 electrons (M shell). In most situations, atoms fuse into molecules by attempting to fill a shell with valence electrons.