How Many Valence Electrons Does Gallium (Ga) Have?

Gallium is the 31st element in the periodic table and the 3rd element in group 13. Gallium is a soft, silvery-white metal and its symbol is ‘Ga’. 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 gallium is called the valence electrons of gallium. The last shell of gallium has three electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of gallium are three.

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

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

How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in a gallium 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 electron 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 electrons of gallium.

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

1st we need to know the total number of electrons in the gallium atom. To know the number of electrons, you need to know the number of protons in gallium.

And to know the number of protons, you need to know the atomic number of the gallium element. To know the atomic number we need to take the help of a periodic table.

It is necessary to know the atomic number of gallium elements from the periodic table. The atomic number is the number of protons. Electrons equal to protons are located outside the nucleus.

That is, we can finally say that there are electrons equal to the atomic number in the gallium atom. From the periodic table, we see that the atomic number of gallium is 31. That is, the gallium atom has a total of thirty-one electrons.

Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of gallium

Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of gallium have to be arranged. We know that gallium atoms have a total of thirty-one electrons.

The electron configuration shows that there are two electrons in the K shell, eight in the L shell, eighteen in the M shell, and three in the N shell.

That is, the first shell of gallium has two electrons, the second shell has eight electrons, the 3rd shell has eighteen electrons and the 4th shell has three electrons. The number of electrons per shell of gallium is 2, 8, 18, 3.

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 gallium has three electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of gallium are three.

How many valence electrons does gallium ion(Ga³⁺) have?

The elements that have 1, 2, or 3 electrons in the last shell donate the electrons in the last shell during bond formation. The element that forms a bond by donating electrons is called cation.

The gallium atom exhibits a Ga³⁺ ion. Gallium donates the electrons of the last shell to form bonds and turns into a gallium ion(Ga³⁺). That is, gallium is a cation element.

Ga – 3e^– → Ga³⁺

Here, the electron configuration of gallium ion is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰. This electron configuration shows that the gallium ion(Ga³⁺) has three shells and the last shell has eighteen electrons. Since the last shell of a gallium ion has eighteen electrons, the valence electrons of gallium ions(Ga³⁺) are eighteen.

How to determine the valency of gallium?

The ability of one atom of an element to join another atom during the formation of a molecule is called valency(valence). There are some rules for diagnosing valency.

The number of electrons in an unpaired state in the last orbital after the electron configuration of an atom is called the valency of that element.

The oxidation state of gallium is +3. The oxidation state of gallium +3 has been used in the Gallium arsenide (GaAs). The valency of gallium in this compound is 3. The oxidation states of gallium depend on the bond formation.