Since #C Cl_4# is made up of one carbon and four chlorine atoms, how many total valence electrons does #C Cl_4# have?

2 Answers
Feb 2, 2016

#32# valence electrons, as lone pairs or bonding pairs.

Explanation:

The carbon atom, #Z=6#, has #4# valence electrons, all of which are conceived to participate in the #4# #C-Cl# bonds. There are #7# valence electrons on each chlorine atom; one of these electrons participates in the individual #C-Cl# bonds. #4xx7+4=32# electrons as required.

Feb 2, 2016

#4+(4xx7)=32e^-#

Explanation:

The number of valence electrons in the molecule #CCl_4# could be calculated by:

#4e^(-) " for Carbon"#

#7e^(-) " for Chlorine"#

Since there is #4# chlorine atoms in the molecule, therefore, the total number of valence electrons would be:

#4+(4xx7)=32e^-#