How Many Valence Electrons Does XeF4 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.

Xenon tetrafluoride consists of two basic atoms. One is a xenon atom and the other is a fluorine atom. The valence electrons of xenon tetrafluoride are the sum of the total valence electrons of xenon and fluorine in the compound XeF₄.

The xenon tetrafluoride compound has thirty-six electrons in the last orbits of xenon and fluorine. Hence, the total number of valence electrons in xenon tetrafluoride is thirty-six.

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 easily determine the valence electrons of xenon tetrafluoride. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know more about this topic.

How to easily determine the number of valence electrons of XeF₄?

The symbol form of xenon tetrafluoride is XeF₄. To determine the valence electrons of XeF₄, it is first necessary to know the valence electrons of the fluorine and xenon atoms.

To determine the valence electrons of xenon tetrafluoride we have to follow two steps. It is shown below:

Step 1: Determine the valence electrons of xenon and fluorine atoms

The atomic number of xenon is 54. So its total number of electrons is fifty-four. The electron configuration of xenon shows that it has eight 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 xenon are eight.

On the other hand, the atomic number of fluorine is 9. So its total number of electrons is nine. The electron configuration of fluorine shows that it has seven electrons in its last orbit. Therefore, the valence electrons of fluorine are seven.

Try the Valence Electrons Calculator and get instant results for any element.

Step 2: Determine the total number of valence electrons in the xenon tetrafluoride compound

Xenon tetrafluoride is a compound. It is composed of one xenon atom and four fluorine atoms.

Therefore, adding the valence electrons of one xenon atom and the valence electrons of four fluorine atoms can easily determine the valence electrons of xenon tetrafluoride.

Mathematical Analysis:

XeF₄

= 8 + (7×4)

= 36

From the above mathematical analysis, we can see that the total number of electrons in the outermost orbit of xenon tetrafluoride is thirty-six. Therefore, the valence electrons of xenon tetrafluoride are thirty-six.

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.