Why is it that the electron configuration for calcium is 2, 8, 8, 2 and not 2, 8, 10? Is calcium special? For which other elements does the 3rd energy level only hold 8 electrons and not 18? What are the rules that govern the 3rd energy level?
2007-03-14 13:39:52 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
because calcium is in the alkaline metal family, it has to have 2 valence electrons.(valence electrons are those farthest away from the nucleus) The alkali metals has (column 1) has 1 valence electron. the alkalines(column 20) all have 2 valence electrons. and so forth. the 2,8,18,32,32,18,2 thing is on ly the maximum an atom can have for each energy level. the answers above mina r wrong. the configuration is 2,8,18,32,32,18,2.
2007-03-14 14:07:45 · answer #1 · answered by bobobhaha101 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
But the 3rd energy level does only hold 8 electrons. The last 2 electrons are in the 4th energy level, which can hold 18 electrons.
2007-03-14 20:45:25 · answer #2 · answered by Rando 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
because the third orbital can not accept 10 electrons;
s=2 p=6 d=10 f=14
2007-03-14 20:47:39 · answer #3 · answered by Larry L 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋