How Many Valence Electrons Does Silver (Ag) Have?

The 47th element of the periodic table is silver. The element of group 11 is silver and its symbol is ‘Ag’. Silver is a d-block element. The elements in groups 3-12 are called transition elements.

The valence electrons are the total number of electrons in the last orbit (shell). But in the case of transition elements, the valence electrons remain in the inner shell (orbit).

The total number of electrons in the last shell and d-subshell after the electron configuration of silver is called the valence electrons of silver. The last shell of silver has an electron and the d-subshell has a total of ten electrons. The d-orbital is filled with ten electrons. Therefore, the valence electron of silver is one.

The valence electrons determine the element’s properties and participate in forming bonds. Silver participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons.

This article discusses how to calculate the number of valence electrons in silver easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about this.

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How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in a silver atom?

The valence electrons have to be determined by following a few steps. The electron configuration is one of them. It is not possible to determine the valence electrons without electron configuration.

Knowing the electron configuration in the right way, it is very easy to determine the valence electrons of all the elements.

The valence electrons of the transition element cannot be determined according to Bohr’s atomic model. Because the valence electrons of the transition elements are located in the inner shell.

However, the valence electron of the transition element can be easily determined according to the Aufbau principle. Now we will learn how to determine the valence electron of silver.

Step-1: Determining the total number of electrons in silver

The elements in the periodic table are arranged according to their atomic number. Since rhodium is the 47th element of the periodic table, the atomic number of silver is 47.

We must always remember that the atomic number and the number of protons of an element are equal. Therefore, a silver atom contains forty-seven protons.

We must also remember that the number of protons and electrons in an element is equal. Therefore, a silver atom contains forty-seven electrons in its orbits.

Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of silver

Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of silver have to be arranged. We know that silver atoms have a total of forty-seven electrons. The full electron configuration of silver is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 5s¹. Here the valence electron configuration of silver is [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹.

Step-3: Determine the valence shell and calculate the total electrons

The third step is to diagnose the valence shell. The last shell after the electron configuration is called the valence shell. The total number of electrons in a valence shell is called valence electrons.

For the transition element, the valence electrons have to be determined by adding the total electrons of the d-orbital to the electron in the last shell of the atom. The last shell of silver has an electron and the d-orbital has a total of ten electrons.

Here, the d-orbital is filled with ten electrons and there is an electron at the last energy shell. Therefore, the valence electrons of silver are one.