How many valence electrons does sulfur(S) have?

The sixteenth element of the periodic table is sulfur. The element of group-16 is sulfur and its symbol is ‘S’. Sulfur forms bonds through its valence electrons. This article discusses in detail how to easily calculate the number of valence electrons in sulfur. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about this.

How many electrons, protons and neutrons does sulfur have?

The nucleus is located in the center of the atom. Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus. The atomic number of sulfur is 16. The atomic number is the number of protons. That is, the number of protons in sulfur is sixteen. Electrons equal to protons are located in a circular shell outside the nucleus. That is, a sulfur atom has a total of sixteen electrons.

The number of neutrons in an element is obtained from the difference between the number of atomic masses and the number of atoms. That is, neutron number (n) = atomic mass number (A) – atomic number (Z)

We know that the atomic number of sulfur is 16 and the atomic mass number is about 32(32.07u). Neutron (n) = 32 – 16 = 16. Therefore, the number of neutrons in sulfur is 16.

What are the valence electrons of sulfur?

The second element in group-16 is sulfur(S). The valence electron is the total number of electrons in the last orbit. The total number of electrons in the last shell(orbit) after the electron configuration of sulfur is called the valence electrons of sulfur. The valence electrons determine the properties of the element and participate in the formation of bonds.

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

The valence electron has 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 electron of sulfur(S).

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

First we need to know the total number of electrons in the sulfur atom. To know the number of electrons, you need to know the number of protons in sulfur. And to know the number of protons, you need to know the atomic number of the sulfur(S) 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 sulfur elements from the periodic table. The atomic number is the number of protons. And 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 sulfur atom. From the periodic table, we see that the atomic number of sulfur is 16. That is, a sulfur atom has a total of sixteen electrons.

Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of sulfur

Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of sulfur have to be arranged. We know that sulfur atoms have a total of sixteen electrons. The electron configuration of sulfur shows that there are two electrons in the K shell, eight in the L shell, and six in the M shell.

That is, the first shell of sulfur has two electrons, the second shell has eight electrons and the 3rd shell has six electrons.

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 of sulfur shows that the last shell of sulfur has six electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of sulfur are six.

What is the valency of sulfur?

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.

There are 3 valences of sulfur. Respectively- 2, 4, 6. Which is different from other elements. The total number of electrons in the last orbit of sulfur is six. Two electrons are required to fill the last orbit of sulfur. Therefore, the valency of sulfur is 2.

Again, Valency is determined from the electron configuration of the element in the excited state. The electron configuration of sulfur excited state is S*(16) = 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p_x¹ 3p_y¹ 3p_z¹ 3d_xy¹. Here, sulfur has four unpaired electrons.

The number of unpaired electrons in the last orbit of an element is the valency of that element. For this, the valency of sulfur is 4. Again, the electron configuration of sulfur excited state is S*(16) = 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹ 3p_x¹ 3p_y¹ 3p_z¹ 3d_xy¹ 3d_yz¹. In this case, sulfur has six unpaired electrons. Therefore, the valency of sulfur is 6.

How many valence electrons does sulfide ion(S^2-) have?

The elements that have 5, 6, or 7 electrons in the last shell receive the electrons in the last shell during bond formation. The elements that receive electrons and form bonds are called anions. During the formation of a bond, the last shell of sulfur receives two electrons and turns into a sulfide ion(S^2-). That is, sulfur is an anion element.

S + 2e^– → S^2-

The electron configuration of sulfide ion(S^2-) is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶. The electron configuration of sulfide ion shows that sulfide ion has three shells and the last shell has eight electrons.

The electron configuration shows that the sulfide ion(S^2-) has acquired the electron configuration of argon. That is, in this case, the valence of sulfur ion is -2. Since the last shell of a sulfur ion has eight electrons, the valence electrons of the sulfide ion(S^2-) are eight.

Compound formation of sulfur

Sulfur participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons. This valence electron participates in the formation of bonds with atoms of other elements. Sulfur atoms form bonds by sharing electrons with hydrogen atoms. The electron configuration of hydrogen shows that hydrogen has only an electron. Two hydrogen atoms and one sulfur atom make hydrogen sulfide(H₂S) compounds by sharing electrons.

H₂ + S → H₂S (balanced)

As a result, the sulfur atom completes its octave and acquires the electron configuration of argon. On the other hand, hydrogen acquires the electron configuration of helium. Therefore, one sulfur atom shares electrons with two hydrogen atoms to form the hydrogen sulfide(H₂S) compound through a covalent bond. Hydrogen sulfide(H₂S) is covalent bonding.