Valence electrons
- Valence electrons are the electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom
- Valence electrons dictate an atom's reactivity and ability to form bonds
- The number of valence electrons can be obtained from the electron configuration of an atom
The Beryllium Atom
Beryllium electron configuration and valence electrons
- The interactions between the valence electrons and nuclei of elements determine if two elements are likely to form a chemical bond
- There are two types of chemical bonds depending on the elements that take part in the bonding process: ionic bond and covalent bond
- An ionic bond occurs between a metal and a nonmetal
- A covalent bond occurs between two nonmetals