Question

What is the valency of sulphur in ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}$

Answer 1

• Sulphur has an electronic configuration as 2,8,6
• thus it requires 2 electrons in its valence shell to meet the ideal configuration of noble gases.
• $\mathrm{S}+2\mathrm{e}\to {\mathrm{S}}^{2-}$
• Thus to meet the requirement of 2 electrons 2 hydrogen atoms need to satisfy, as each hydrogen has 1 electron in the outermost shell
• Hence, the valency of sulphur in ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}$ is 2.