Question

What is the valency of chlorine?

Answer 1

Valency

• The valency of an atom refers to its ability to combine with other atoms.
• The valency of an element determines the number of bonds that an atom can make as part of a complex.
• The valence of an element is the number of hydrogen atoms that can mix with or replace one of the element's atoms (directly or indirectly).

Valency of Chlorine

• Chlorine has an atomic number of $17$.
• Chlorine's electrical configuration is $\left[\mathrm{Ne}\right]3{\mathrm{s}}^{2}3{\mathrm{p}}^5$, which can also be represented as $2,8,7$.
• This demonstrates that chlorine's outermost shell has seven valence electrons.
• If there are more than four valence electrons, the valency can be determined as follows: $\mathrm{Valency}=\mathrm{Valence}\mathrm{electron}-8$
• As a result, chlorine has a valency of $8-7$, which is $1$.

Hence, chlorine has a valency of $1$.