How many electrons does #H_2SO_4# have? How many atoms does each element have?

1 Answer
Nov 28, 2016

Well, each hydrogen has one, and sulfur and oxygen each have 6 #"valence"# electrons.

Explanation:

And in the Lewis structure of sulfuric acid, you can see where these electrons are distributed:

i.e. #H-O-S(=O)_2-OH#, else......

#H-O-S^(2+)(-O)_2""^(-)""-OH#,

The chalcogen atoms each have 2 extra lone pairs of electrons around each centre, which accounts for the 6 electrons.