Which element has fewer than four dots in its electron dot diagrams?

arsenic (As)
sulfur (S)
krypton (Kr)
gallium (Ga)

1 answer

To determine which element has fewer than four dots in its electron dot diagram (Lewis dot structure), we need to look at the number of valence electrons for each element:

  1. Arsenic (As) - has 5 valence electrons (5 dots).
  2. Sulfur (S) - has 6 valence electrons (6 dots).
  3. Krypton (Kr) - has 8 valence electrons (8 dots).
  4. Gallium (Ga) - has 3 valence electrons (3 dots).

From this, we can see that gallium (Ga) has fewer than four dots in its electron dot diagram, with only 3 dots.

So, the answer is gallium (Ga).