Question

For each of the following nonmetals, how many electrons will each atom of the nonmetal gain in reacting with a metal? a. oxygen b. fluorine c. nitrogen d. chlorine e. sulfur

Short answer

a. Oxygen will gain 2 electrons. b. Fluorine will gain 1 electron. c. Nitrogen will gain 3 electrons. d. Chlorine will gain 1 electron. e. Sulfur will gain 2 electrons.

Step-by-step solution

Determine the group number for each nonmetal

Firstly, we need to find the group number of the given nonmetals in the periodic table. a. Oxygen is in Group 16. b. Fluorine is in Group 17. c. Nitrogen is in Group 15. d. Chlorine is in Group 17. e. Sulfur is in Group 16.

Calculate the number of electrons needed to achieve a stable electron configuration

After identifying the group number, we can now determine the number of electrons each nonmetal needs to gain to achieve a stable electron configuration. a. Oxygen (Group 16): Nonmetals in Group 16 need to gain 2 electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, so oxygen will gain 2 electrons when reacting with a metal. b. Fluorine (Group 17): Nonmetals in Group 17 need to gain 1 electron to achieve a stable electron configuration, so fluorine will gain 1 electron when reacting with a metal. c. Nitrogen (Group 15): Nonmetals in Group 15 need to gain 3 electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, so nitrogen will gain 3 electrons when reacting with a metal. d. Chlorine (Group 17): Nonmetals in Group 17 need to gain 1 electron to achieve a stable electron configuration, so chlorine will gain 1 electron when reacting with a metal. e. Sulfur (Group 16): Nonmetals in Group 16 need to gain 2 electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, so sulfur will gain 2 electrons when reacting with a metal.