Sal drew the electron dot diagram of an aluminum atom as shown.

Question

A l with 1 dot each above and right.

How should Sal correct his diagram?

He should add five more dots so that the atom obeys the octet rule.
He should add ten more dots so that all thirteen electrons are shown.
He should add a single dot below the symbol.
He should add one dot below and one dot to the left of the symbol.

Answer 1

Aluminum (Al) has 13 electrons, with the electron configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹. This means that in the outermost shell (the third shell), aluminum has three valence electrons: two in the 3s subshell and one in the 3p subshell.

The correct way to represent the valence electrons in the electron dot diagram is to show one dot for each of the three valence electrons around the symbol for aluminum. In this case, Sal's diagram shows only two dots (one above and one to the right), which is incorrect.

To correct his diagram:

• He should add one dot below and one dot to the left of the symbol.

Thus, the correct choice is: He should add one dot below and one dot to the left of the symbol. This will show all three valence electrons appropriately.