Question

Two isotopes of potassium are K-37 and K-42. How many valence electrons are in an atom of K-42 in the ground state?

Answer 1

Answer:

1 valence electron.

Explanation:

Isotopes are atoms of the same element which has different numbers of neutrons, and because of that have different masses number. K-37 has mass 37 amu, and K-42 has mass 42 amu.

The difference in neutrons doesn't change the number of protons either the number of electrons. Potassium is in group 1 in the periodic table, and all the elements in that group have one element in the valence shell, which is the last shell of the atom. So K-42 has 1 valence electron.

Answer 2

In the ground state, the number of valence electrons the K-42 isotope has is only one valence electron.

Potassium:

• Is in the first group of the periodic table
• Has one electron on its valence shell

Because it is in group 1, we can infer that Potassium has only one electron on its valence shell. The isotope does not matter because the only thing that makes isotopes different are the number of neutrons they have in the nucleus.

In conclusion, K-42 has only one valence electron.

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