Question

Predict: What is likely to happen to electrons in the atom pictured above?

-the atom will gain 3 electrons

-the atom will lose 5 electrons

-the atom is unreactive and electrons will not move

-the atom will gain 8 electrons

Answer 1

The atom will gain 3 electrons

Further explanation

Valence electrons are electrons that are used to bond which are located in the outer shell of the atom

The electron configuration of N :

[He] 2s² 2p³

This configuration shows that there are 5 valence electrons in the outer shell of the N atom

So based on the octet rule, the N atom will bind 3 more electrons to make it stable

An example is the formation of covalent (triple) bonds in the formation of N2 molecules