Question

An element's atomic number is 31. How many electrons would an atom of this element have?

Answer 1

Ans. The atomic number of an element is usually an identifying characteristic of each element and is usually equal to the number of protons present in the elemental atom. Elements are composed of atoms, which consist of protons, neutrons and electrons. An atom consists of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons and neutral neutrons.

One way to find out the number of electrons in an element is to calculate its atomic number, i.e., the number of electrons = atomic number. Another way is to look at the electronic configuration of the element. Electronic distribution of an element is the arrangement and ordering of the electrons present in the atom, these electrons are arranged in the different orbitals. The atomic number 31 can be written in electronic configuration as given below:

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p¹

The superscripts are the number of electrons in the element. s, p, d, f are the orbitals, with different electron holding capacity. Electrons are usually available in the orbitals of nucleus of atoms. s can hold 2, and p, d, f can hold maximum of 6, 10, 14 respectively.