How Many Valence Electrons Does SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) 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.
Sulfur dioxide consists of two basic atoms. One is a sulfur atom and the other is an oxygen atom. The valence electrons of sulfur dioxide are the sum of the total valence electrons of sulfur and oxygen in the compound SO2.
The sulfur dioxide compound has a total of eighteen electrons in the last orbits of sulfur and oxygen. Hence, the total number of valence electrons in sulfur dioxide is eighteen.
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 dioxide very easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know more about this topic.
How to easily determine the number of valence electrons of SO2?
The symbol form of sulfur dioxide is SO2. To determine the valence electrons of SO2, it is first necessary to know the valence electrons of the oxygen and sulfur atoms. To determine the valence electrons of sulfur dioxide we have to follow two steps. It is shown below:
Step 1: Determine the valence electrons of sulfur and oxygen 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 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 sulfur dioxide compound
Sulfur dioxide is a compound. It is composed of one sulfur atom and two oxygen atoms. Therefore, adding the valence electrons of one sulfur atom and the valence electrons of two oxygen atoms can easily determine the valence electrons of sulfur dioxide.
Mathematical Analysis:
SO2
= 6 + (6×2)
= 18
| Sulfur (S) | Oxygen (O) | Sulfur dioxide (SO2) |
| 6 | 6 | 18 |
From the above mathematical analysis, we can see that the total number of electrons in the outermost orbit of sulfur dioxide is eighteen. Therefore, the valence electrons of sulfur dioxide are eighteen.
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.