FAQ: When are atoms most stable?

What do atoms do to become more stable?

Some atoms become more stable by gaining or losing an entire electron (or several electrons). When they do so, atoms form ions, or charged particles. Electron gain or loss can give an atom a filled outermost electron shell and make it energetically more stable.

Why are atoms most stable with 8 electrons?

Atoms with 8 electrons in their valence shell have completely filled last orbitals and are therefore the most stable, as their electronic configuration is similar to that of the closest noble gas.

What are three ways an atom can become stable?

Another way atoms can become more stable is by sharing electrons (rather than fully gaining or losing them), thus forming covalent bonds.

There are three major chemical bonds.

• Ionic bond.
• Covalent bond.
• Hydrogen bond.

What makes an atom stable or reactive?

An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that makeup the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced; if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy. Instability of an atom’s nucleus may result from an excess of either neutrons or protons.

Which is more stable atom or ion?

b.. in an atom there are equal number of protons and electrons. ions loose electron to attain nearest noble gas electronic configuration, and become stable. But atoms does not have filled valence shell. Thus ions are more stable than atoms.

Why is H+ unstable?

Hydrogen only has one electron in its lowest energy level. This is a very unstable arrangement, and hydrogen gas undergoes a variety of reactions so as to reach a stable electron configuration where its energy level is either empty of electrons, or filled with electrons.

Why can an atom have no more than 8 valence electrons?

octet rule: Atoms lose, gain, or share electrons in order to have a full valence shell of eight electrons. Hydrogen is an exception because it can hold a maximum of two electrons in its valence level.

Which follows octet rule?

Answer. Answer: Explanation: only N2O3 molecule follow octet rule.

Why do electrons want a full outer shell?

Due to a particular property of electrons (they’re fermions), you can only have a limited number of electrons in each shell or subshell. So as you add electrons they occupy shells that are higher and higher in energy. The sub-shells aren’t equally spaced in terms of energy.

What is the smallest atomic particle?

The smallest particle is the quark, the basic building block of hadrons. There are two types of hadrons: baryons (three quarks) and mesons (one quark, one antiquark).

How do atoms bond together?

Atoms come together to form molecules because of their electrons. When two atoms share electrons between them, they are locked together (bonded) by that sharing. These are called covalent bonds. Bonds like this are in oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, and hydrogen gas.

What are the stable atoms?

A stable atom is an atom that has enough binding energy to hold the nucleus together permanently. An unstable atom does not have enough binding energy to hold the nucleus together permanently and is called a radioactive atom.

What is the least reactive element?

Noble gases are nonreactive, nonmetallic elements in group 18 of the periodic table. Noble gases are the least reactive of all elements. That’s because they have eight valence electrons, which fill their outer energy level.

Does more electrons mean more reactive?

It’s when an atom has more electrons than protons it is more reactive. And an atom that has a complete valence shell gets even more stable. Atoms that have complete valence shells are known as noble gases.

Which atom is the most reactive?

The most reactive element is fluorine, the first element in the halogen group. The most reactive metal is francium, the last alkali metal (and most expensive element). However, francium is an unstable radioactive element, only found in trace amounts.