How Many Valence Electrons Does Hydrogen Peroxide Have?
The total number of electrons in the last orbit of an element is called the valence electrons of that element.
Two or more elements combine to form compounds. The valence electrons of a compound are the sum of the total valence electrons of each element in that compound.
Hydrogen peroxide consists of two basic atoms. One is a hydrogen atom and the other is an oxygen atom. The valence electrons of hydrogen peroxide are the sum of the total valence electrons of hydrogen and oxygen in the compound H2O2.
The hydrogen peroxide compound has a total of fourteen electrons in the last orbits of hydrogen and oxygen. Hence, the total number of valence electrons in hydrogen peroxide is fourteen.
To determine the valence electrons of a compound, the number of valence electrons in each element of the compound must be known.
This article discusses in detail how to easily determine the valence electrons of hydrogen peroxide. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know more about this topic.
How to easily determine the number of valence electrons of H2O2?
The symbol form of hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. To determine the valence electrons of H2O2, it is first necessary to know the valence electrons of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms.
To determine the valence electrons of hydrogen peroxide we have to follow two steps. It is shown below:
Step 1: Determine the valence electrons of hydrogen and oxygen atoms
The atomic number of hydrogen is 1. So its total number of electrons is one. The electron configuration of hydrogen shows that it has an electron in its last orbit.
We already know that the electrons in the last orbit of an element are the valence electrons of that element. Therefore, the valence electrons of hydrogen are one.
On the other hand, the atomic number of oxygen is 8. So its total number of electrons is eight. The electron configuration of oxygen shows that it has six electrons in its last orbit. Therefore, the valence electrons of oxygen are six.
Step 2: Determine the total number of valence electrons in the hydrogen peroxide compound
Hydrogen peroxide is a compound. It is composed of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms.
Therefore, adding the valence electrons of two hydrogen atoms and the valence electrons of two oxygen atoms can easily determine the valence electrons of hydrogen peroxide.
Mathematical Analysis:
H2O2
= (1×2) + (6×2)
= 14
| Hydrogen (H) | Oxygen (O) | Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) |
| 1 | 6 | 14 |
From the above mathematical analysis, we can see that the total number of electrons in the outermost orbit of hydrogen peroxide is fourteen. Therefore, the valence electrons of hydrogen peroxide are fourteen.
Why do you need to know the valence electrons of an element?
In addition to knowing the number of electrons of an element, it is also necessary to know the number of valence electrons of that element. The number of valence electrons of an element carries important properties of that element.
Many important properties of elements and compounds can be determined by valence electrons. Some important features are mentioned below:
- Determining the element’s position in the periodic table
- Determining the number of groups of elements in the periodic table
- Determining Valency
- Lewis dot formation
- Determination of the molecular structure of the compound
- Determination of bond pairs and non-pair electrons of compounds
Valence electrons are related to the characteristics of a compound. So we need to know the valence electrons of all the elements to determine the properties of compounds.