Electron Dot diagrams

Electron Dot diagrams

1. The valence electrons of an atom are the electrons located in the highest occupied principal energy level

2. Valence electrons are primarily responsible for the chemical properties of elements

3. The number of valence electrons is determined from the electron configuration.

4. Example: Lithium configuration is 1s22s so it has 1 valence electron

5. Electron dot diagrams are diagrams in which the valence electrons of an atom are shown as dots distributed around the element’s symbol.

6. Electron dot diagrams show the valence electrons for an atom

7. The dot diagrams are the same for each element in the representative element groups.