How to Find the Valence Electrons for NH3 (Ammonia)?
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. Ammonia consists of two basic atoms. One is a nitrogen atom and the other is a hydrogen atom.
The valence electrons of ammonia are the sum of the total valence electrons of nitrogen and hydrogen in the compound NH3. The ammonia compound has a total of eight electrons in the last orbits of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Hence, the total number of valence electrons in ammonia is eight. 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 determine the valence electrons of ammonia very easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know more about this topic.
How to easily determine the number of valence electrons of ammonia?
The symbol form of ammonia is NH3. To determine the valence electrons of NH3, it is first necessary to know the valence electrons of the hydrogen and nitrogen atoms. To determine the valence electrons of ammonia we have to follow two steps. It is shown below:
Step 1: Determine the valence electrons of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms
The atomic number of nitrogen is 7. So its total number of electrons is seven. The electron configuration of nitrogen shows that it has five electrons 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 nitrogen are five.
On the other hand, the atomic number of hydrogen is 1. So its total number of electrons is one. The electron configuration of hydrogen shows that it has one electron in its last orbit. Therefore, the valence electrons of hydrogen are one.
Step 2: Determine the total number of valence electrons in the ammonia compound
Ammonia is a compound. It is composed of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms. Therefore, adding the valence electrons of one nitrogen atom and the valence electrons of three hydrogen atoms can easily determine the valence electrons of ammonia.
Mathematical Analysis:
NH3
= 5 + (1×3)
= 8
Nitrogen (N) | Hydrogen (H) | Ammonia (NH3) |
5 | 1 | 8 |
From the above mathematical analysis, we can see that the total number of electrons in the outermost orbit of ammonia is eight. Therefore, the valence electrons of ammonia are eight.
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.