How many valence electrons does nitrogen have available for bonding to other atoms?
1 Answer
Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons.
Explanation:
Look at the group number at the top of the periodic table. The column number at the top is the group number. For example, the column with Be at the top is group 2. The column with N at the top is group 15. You can relate group number to valence electrons.
Group 1 has 1 valence electron.
Group 2 has 2 valence electrons.
Group 13 has 3 valence electrons.
Group 14 has 4 valence electrons.
Group 15 has 5 valence electrons.
Group 16 has 6 valence electrons.
Group 17 has 7 valence electrons.
Group 18 has 8 valence electrons, except for He, which has 2.
Ignore the transition metals in groups 3-12, or the middle block in the periodic table. They don't follow this rule.
So, for your question, because nitrogen (N) is in group 15, it has 5 valence electrons.
