Fluorine (F) has the atomic number 9, which means it has 9 electrons. The electron configuration for fluorine is 1s² 2s² 2p⁵.
The valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost shell, which for fluorine are the 2s and 2p electrons. In this case, fluorine has:
- 2 electrons in the 2s subshell
- 5 electrons in the 2p subshell
Adding these together, fluorine has a total of 7 valence electrons.
Therefore, the correct response is:
seven