Question
What can be stated for a particular element if only the group number of 14 is known?
the element has 14 neutrons
the element has 4 valence electrons
the element has 14 protons
the element has 4 electrons
the element has 14 neutrons
the element has 4 valence electrons
the element has 14 protons
the element has 4 electrons
Answers
GPT-4o mini
If an element belongs to group 14 (also known as group IV or IVA) of the periodic table, the most accurate statement that can be made is:
**The element has 4 valence electrons.**
Group 14 elements include carbon (C), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), and flerovium (Fl). All these elements have four electrons in their outermost shell, which gives them chemical and physical properties common to this group.
The other statements provided are not necessarily true for all group 14 elements:
- **The element has 14 neutrons:** This is not guaranteed. The number of neutrons can vary depending on the isotope of the element.
- **The element has 14 protons:** This is true only for silicon. Other elements in this group have a different number of protons: carbon has 6, germanium has 32, tin has 50, lead has 82, and flerovium has 114.
- **The element has 4 electrons:** This is also not necessarily true; while the group has four valence electrons, neutral atoms can have more electrons depending on their atomic number.
Thus, knowing that an element is in group 14 primarily indicates its valence electron count.
**The element has 4 valence electrons.**
Group 14 elements include carbon (C), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), and flerovium (Fl). All these elements have four electrons in their outermost shell, which gives them chemical and physical properties common to this group.
The other statements provided are not necessarily true for all group 14 elements:
- **The element has 14 neutrons:** This is not guaranteed. The number of neutrons can vary depending on the isotope of the element.
- **The element has 14 protons:** This is true only for silicon. Other elements in this group have a different number of protons: carbon has 6, germanium has 32, tin has 50, lead has 82, and flerovium has 114.
- **The element has 4 electrons:** This is also not necessarily true; while the group has four valence electrons, neutral atoms can have more electrons depending on their atomic number.
Thus, knowing that an element is in group 14 primarily indicates its valence electron count.