

Such a diagram represents the shells of electrons surrounding the nucleus as concentric circles. There can be at most 8 of these electrons in any given shell of an atom.Īn electron shell diagram is a visual means of representing the electrons present in the inner shells and outer shell of an atom of an element. But the valence electrons are the outer shell electrons. All the other electrons are considered inner shell electrons. Valence shell electrons are the s- and p-electrons that are located in the outermost occupied electron shell of an atom. In fact, we refer to these bonding electrons as valence shell electrons. This is all important because the electrons that are involved in bonding atoms together are usually the electrons located in the s- and p-type orbitals. The third shell, and those that are larger, can hold more electrons but only 8 of those electrons will be housed inside of s- and p-type orbitals. The next biggest shell has a single s orbital and three p orbitals and can hold at most 8 electrons. So the innermost shell has a single s orbital and can hold at most 2 electrons. Each successively larger shell can hold more electrons. But since each shell contains a different number of orbitals, the electron-holding capacity is different for different electron shells. Here's what you need to know to nail this question. The p orbitals are shaped like a cylinder that has been pinched at its midpoint.

For instance, the s orbitals are spherically shaped. The orbitals can have varying shapes and orientations in space.

The electrons are positioned inside of these orbitals which are located inside of the shells. You can think of orbitals as electron homes.
#Ion bonding formula series#
There are a series of concentric electron shells surrounding an atom's nucleus, each of varying size. We understand electrons to be located in regions of space surrounding the nucleus that we refer to as electron shells. All About Electrons, Shells, and Valence Electrons
