According to the octet rule, if an atom has fewer than 8 electrons in the outer most energy level, what is likely to happen?
It will release electrons and protons until it reaches a stable configuration.
Nothing will happen, unless it is radioactive.
It will react with other nearby atoms to give, receive or share electrons until it has a full outer shell.
It will gain or lost neutrons until it has an equivalent number of neutrons to protons
It will react with other nearby atoms to give, receive, or share electrons until it has a full outer shell.
According to the octet rule, if an atom has fewer than 8 electrons in the outermost energy level, it is likely to react with other nearby atoms to achieve a full outer shell. This can be done by giving away, receiving, or sharing electrons with other atoms.
According to the octet rule, if an atom has fewer than 8 electrons in its outermost energy level, it is likely to react with other nearby atoms to give, receive, or share electrons until it achieves a full outer shell. This is because atoms generally tend to be more stable when they have a complete outer shell of electrons.
To understand why this happens, you can think of electrons as being arranged in energy levels or shells around the nucleus of an atom. The first energy level can hold a maximum of 2 electrons, while the second and subsequent energy levels can hold a maximum of 8 electrons. Atoms with fewer than 8 electrons in their outermost energy level (referred to as the valence shell) have a tendency to interact with other atoms in order to achieve a more stable electron configuration.
One way atoms can achieve a full outer shell is by gaining or losing electrons. For example, if an atom has 6 electrons in its valence shell, it can easily gain 2 electrons from another atom to complete its outer shell, achieving stability. On the other hand, if an atom has only 1 electron in its valence shell, it can lose that electron to another atom, also achieving stability.
Another way atoms can achieve a full outer shell is through electron sharing in covalent bonds. In a covalent bond, atoms share pairs of electrons, allowing both atoms to achieve a more stable electron configuration. This is commonly observed in molecules composed of nonmetallic elements.
So, to summarize, the statement "It will react with other nearby atoms to give, receive, or share electrons until it has a full outer shell" is the correct answer according to the octet rule.