How Many Valence Electrons Does Tin (Sn) Have?
The 50th element of the periodic table is tin. The element of group 14 is tin and its symbol is ‘Sn’. The valence electrons are the total number of electrons in the last orbit(shell).
The total number of electrons in the last shell after the electron configuration of tin is called the valence electrons of tin. The last shell of tin has four electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of tin are four.
The valence electrons determine the element’s properties and participate in forming bonds. Tin participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons.
This article discusses how to calculate the number of valence electrons in tin easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about this.
How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in a tin 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.
However, valence electrons can be easily identified by arranging electrons according to the Bohr principle. Now we will learn how to determine the valence electron of tin.
Step-1: Determining the total number of electrons in tin
The elements in the periodic table are arranged according to their atomic number. Since rhodium is the 50th element of the periodic table, the atomic number of tin is 50.
We must always remember that the atomic number and the number of protons of an element are equal. Therefore, a tin atom contains fifty protons.
We must also remember that the number of protons and electrons in an element is equal. Therefore, a tin atom contains fifty electrons in its orbits.
Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of tin
Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of tin have to be arranged. We know that tin atoms have a total of fifty electrons.
The electron configuration of the tin shows that the first shell of tin has two electrons, the second shell has eight electrons, the 3rd shell has eighteen electrons, the 4th shell has also eighteen electrons and the 5th shell has four electrons. The number of electrons per shell of tin is 2, 8, 18, 18, 4.
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.
The electron configuration shows that the last shell of tin has four electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of tin are four.