Asked by glenn
How many electrons are there in the outermost shell of a potassium (K) atom that has a total of 19 electrons?
a.
2
b.
8
c.
8
d.
1
a.
2
b.
8
c.
8
d.
1
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
Potassium (K) has an atomic number of 19, which means it has 19 electrons. The electron configuration of potassium is:
- 2 electrons in the first shell (1s²)
- 8 electrons in the second shell (2s² 2p⁶)
- 8 electrons in the third shell (3s² 3p⁶)
- 1 electron in the fourth shell (4s¹)
The outermost shell of potassium is the fourth shell, which has a total of 1 electron. Therefore, the correct answer is:
**d. 1**
- 2 electrons in the first shell (1s²)
- 8 electrons in the second shell (2s² 2p⁶)
- 8 electrons in the third shell (3s² 3p⁶)
- 1 electron in the fourth shell (4s¹)
The outermost shell of potassium is the fourth shell, which has a total of 1 electron. Therefore, the correct answer is:
**d. 1**