Two representative elements, nitrogen and oxygen, are in the same period of the periodic table. Which statement correctly describes the atoms of the two elements?(1 point)

Question

Responses

They have the same number of valence electrons.
They have the same number of valence electrons.

They have valence electrons in the same energy level.
They have valence electrons in the same energy level.

They have the same number of electrons.
They have the same number of electrons.

They have valence electrons in different energy levels.

Answer 1

The correct statement is:

They have valence electrons in the same energy level.

Nitrogen and oxygen are in the same period (the second period) of the periodic table, which means they have valence electrons in the same principal energy level (n=2). However, they do not have the same number of valence electrons; nitrogen has 5, and oxygen has 6. They also do not have the same number of electrons overall, as nitrogen has 7 electrons and oxygen has 8 electrons.