How many valence electrons does an ion with 15 protons have?
1 Answer
Dec 2, 2015
This element is phosphorus and it has five valence electrons.
Explanation:
We can determine this two ways. The element with 15 protons, meaning it has atomic number 15, is phosphorus. Phosphorus is in group 15/VA. Based on its group number, phosphorus has 5 valence electrons, as do all of the elements in that group.
Another way we can answer this question is to write the electron configuration for a neutral phosphorus atom, which would have 15 electrons: