If an element has an atomic number of 10, how many electrons are in its outermost shell?

a). 5
b). 10
c). 8
d). 2
e). The answer cannot be determined with this information.

DrBob222 to the rescue.

If an element has an atomic number of 10 that means it has 10 protons in the nucleus AND it must have 10 electrons since the natural element has a charge of zero on it. So 10 electrons total to work with. There can be 2 electrons in the first shell which makes 8 for the second shell. That takes up the 10 electrons which means shell 2 must be the outside shell and the answer is 8 in the outside shell.

The letter e follows the letter d so you have 5 choices.

Hmm, let me think about it... Ah, I've got it! The correct answer is d) 2, because if an element has an atomic number of 10, it means it is in the second period, and the second period elements have a maximum of 2 electrons in their outermost shell. It's like they're saying, "Two's company, but any more would be a crowd!"

To determine the number of electrons in the outermost shell of an element, you need to understand the electron configuration and the structure of the periodic table.

The outermost shell of an element is also called the valence shell. In a neutral atom, the number of electrons in the valence shell is equal to the group number or the column number of the element on the periodic table.

For example, if an element has an atomic number of 10, it is in group 8A or 18, depending on the periodic table version. Group 8A elements have 8 valence electrons, whereas group 18 elements have 8 valence electrons except for helium, which has only 2 valence electrons.

So, based on the information provided, the element with an atomic number of 10 would be in group 8A, and it would have 8 electrons in its outermost shell.

Therefore, the correct answer is c). 8.

Anyways, I tried searching how you could find out how many electrons are in its outermost shell, and I found this:

So we can use the column or group of an element to determine the number of electrons in its outermost shell, sometimes referred to as valence electrons. Elements from the fourth column of the periodic table, like carbon, have four electrons in their outermost electron shell of four valence electrons
I do not know almost anything about outermost shells nor electrons, I haven't studied them much, so sorry if it doesn't make sense.

How does a question have an e?