How to Find the Valence Electrons for Sulfur Hexafluoride?
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. Sulfur hexafluoride consists of two basic atoms. One is a sulfur atom and the other is a fluorine atom.
The valence electrons of sulfur hexafluoride are the sum of the total valence electrons of sulfur and fluorine in the compound SF6. The sulfur hexafluoride compound has a total of forty-eight electrons in the last orbits of sulfur and fluorine.
Hence, the total number of valence electrons in sulfur hexafluoride is forty-two. 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 sulfur hexafluoride very easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know more about this topic.
How to easily determine the number of valence electrons of SF6?
The symbol form of sulfur hexafluoride is SF6. To determine the valence electrons of SF6, it is first necessary to know the valence electrons of the fluorine and sulfur atoms.
To determine the valence electrons of sulfur hexafluoride we have to follow two steps. It is shown below:
Step 1: Determine the valence electrons of sulfur and fluorine atoms
The atomic number of sulfur is 16. So its total number of electrons is sixteen. The electron configuration of sulfur shows that it has six 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 sulfur are six.
On the other hand, the atomic number of fluorine is 9. So its total number of electrons is nine. The electron configuration of fluorine shows that it has seven electrons in its last orbit. Therefore, the valence electrons of fluorine are seven.
Step 2: Determine the total number of valence electrons in the sulfur hexafluoride compound
Sulfur hexafluoride is a compound. It is composed of one sulfur atom and six fluorine atoms.
Therefore, adding the valence electrons of one sulfur atom and the valence electrons of six fluorine atoms can easily determine the valence electrons of sulfur hexafluoride.
Mathematical Analysis:
SF6
= 6 + (7×6)
= 48
Sulfur (S) | Fluorine (F) | Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) |
6 | 7 | 48 |
From the above mathematical analysis, we can see that the total number of electrons in the outermost orbit of sulfur hexafluoride is forty-eight. Therefore, the valence electrons of sulfur hexafluoride are forty-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.