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2007-02-06 16:47:48 · 5 answers · asked by couturechic16 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Helium is called a Noble Gas, or an Inert Gas because it does not make compounds in normal chemical reactions.
This is because helium has its highest energy level filled with the maximum number of electrons so it has no "desire" to gain, lose or share electrons which is a requirement to be reactive.
Hydrogen, on the other hand, only has one electron in its highest energy level (both hydrogen and helium only have one energy level) and it needs two electrons to fill it. Therefore, hydrogen will either gain, lose or share electrons in order to gain this "filled" energy level state. Whether hydrogen gains, loses, or shares its one electron with another atom depends on what other atom is available.
CHEMISTRY TEACHER
2007-02-06 16:54:46 · answer #1 · answered by CAROL P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Helium is considered a noble gas because its outermost shell is filled (2 electrons). It doesn't want to give away any e- nor does it want to take any. Hydrogen, on the other hand, has 1 valence electron, so it wants 1 more electron to fill its outer shell. Hydrogen and helium have the 1 s orbital as their outermost, so it only needs 2. As for the other elements, they have an s and p orbital, which could accommodate 2 and 6 e- respectively thus totaling to 8. Some atoms can even accommodate even more in their d and f orbitals
2007-02-06 16:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by nebulastar 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
atoms of elements from the first row (Hydrogen and Helium) have one set of S-orbitals, for a total of 2 orbitals.Helium, the last element in the row, has two protons in itsnucleus, and so will normally have two electrons in orbitalsaround it. Hydrogen has only one proton, and one electron.When an orbital set is full (as in the case of Helium), the electronsin that set are tightly bound to the atom, and do not interacteasily with other atoms. Electrons in orbital sets that are notfull are less tightly bound, and more able to interact with other particles. So Hydrogen is more reactive than Helium.
2007-02-06 16:58:59 · answer #3 · answered by julia 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hydrogen is more reactive than helium because it has an unfilled electron space so it reacts with every thing.
2007-02-06 19:26:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it has one electron in it's outermost orbit and need just one more to make it stable...this tendency to acquire the extra electron makes it react with other atom easily...hence more reactive
2007-02-06 16:57:47 · answer #5 · answered by Vishal H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋