Question

Is radical and valency are same? How charges are given on any element or compound?

Answer 1

Radical and valency:

• The ability to combine one element or radical with another to form a compound or molecule is known as valence.
• Valency is also known as the number of Hydrogen atoms that can combine with one atom of the element or radical to form a compound.
• Example: One atom of Hydrogen combines with one atom of chlorine to form hydrogen chloride; so, the valency of Chlorine is one.
• While radicals are called charged atoms or groups of atoms having a common charge which acts as a single unit during a chemical reaction and are highly reactive & unstable chemical species.
• Hence, radical and valency are not the same, they are different.

Giving charges on any element or compound:

• To calculate the charge of an ion, the atomic number of the ion should be equal to the number of protons in it.
• For example: if an ion loses two electrons, its charge is +2 while if the atom receives an electron, its charge is 1.
• Hence, in the above-given way, we can assign a charge to any element.