In: Biology
Silicon is an element that is found directly underneath carbon in the periodic table. How many electrons are in the valence shell of a silicon atom?
By definition the periodic table is a table of the chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number, usually in rows, so that elements with similar atomic structure (and hence similar chemical properties) appear in vertical columns. Atomic number is the number of protons (+ve charge) in the nucleus, which determines the characteristics of the element. Number of electrons (-ve charge) in the given element is equal to number of protons in the nucleus.
Silicon (denoted by "Si") is element 14 in the Periodic Table. ie., It has 14 protons, hence it should have 14 electrons. It has 2 electrons in its first shell, 8 electrons in the second shell, and 4 electrons in the third shell. Since the electrons in the third shell are the outermost electrons, silicon has 4 valence electrons.