Question

Do magnesium and calcium have the same number of electron shells?

Answer 1

Yes, magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) have the same number of electron shells. Both elements belong to the alkaline earth metals group in the periodic table. Magnesium has an atomic number of 12, which means it has 12 electrons arranged in 3 electron shells (the configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2\)). Calcium, with an atomic number of 20, has 20 electrons and also has 4 electron shells (the configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2\)).

So in summary, magnesium has 3 electron shells, while calcium has 4, which means they do not have the same number of electron shells.