Question

What is the atomicity of the element? Give an example of a substance where an element exhibits atomicity of 4.

Answer 1

Atomicity - Total number of atoms present in one molecule of an element is called its atomicity.

• Different molecules have different atomicity
• Atomicity of the molecule can be -

1. Monoatomic- molecule contains only one atom. Example - Silver (Ag), Iron (Fe)
2. Diatomic- molecule contains only two atoms. Example - Oxygen (O₂), Nitrogen (N₂)
3. Triatomic- molecule contains three atoms. Example - Ozone (O₃), Sulphur dioxide (SO₂)
4. Tetra atomic- molecule contains four atoms. Example -Phosphorous (P₄)
5. Polyatomic - molecule contains more than atoms. Example -Sulphur (S₈)

Therefore atomicity of Phosphorous (P₄) is 4 where an element exhibits atomicity of 4.