how many valence electrons does copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) have?
How does your prof define a valence electron?
To find out how many valence electrons copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) have, we need to look at their position in the periodic table.
Step 1: Locate the elements on the periodic table.
Copper (Cu) is located at atomic number 29.
Nickel (Ni) is located at atomic number 28.
Cobalt (Co) is located at atomic number 27.
Step 2: Determine the electron configuration.
To determine the electron configuration, we can refer to the periodic table or use the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill atomic orbitals in order of increasing energy.
Copper (Cu) has an electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^1 3d^10. From this configuration, we can see that copper has one electron in its outermost 4s orbital and ten electrons in its 3d orbitals.
Nickel (Ni) has an electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^8. From this configuration, we can see that nickel has two electrons in its outermost 4s orbital and eight electrons in its 3d orbitals.
Cobalt (Co) has an electron configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^7. From this configuration, we can see that cobalt has two electrons in its outermost 4s orbital and seven electrons in its 3d orbitals.
Step 3: Calculate the number of valence electrons.
Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom. For copper, nickel, and cobalt, the outermost energy level is the 4s orbital.
Copper (Cu) has 1 valence electron.
Nickel (Ni) has 2 valence electrons.
Cobalt (Co) has 2 valence electrons.
Therefore, copper (Cu) has 1 valence electron, nickel (Ni) has 2 valence electrons, and cobalt (Co) has 2 valence electrons.