I don’t know what the “cheater” way is, however you can easily judge how many valence electrons an element has by looking at its group number on the periodic table.
Bonding in chemistry is completely and totally due to electrons. Every element wants 8 electrons in its outer shell in order to be stable. This is what we call the “Octet Rule”.
A. Large atoms have valence electrons farther from the nucleus and lose them more readily, so they are more reactive than small atoms.
For example, the valence electron of a small atom like Li is tightly held. <em>Lithium gently fizzes</em> on the surface as it reacts with the water to produce hydrogen.
In contrast, the valence electron of a large atom like Cs is so loosely held that <em>cesium exlodes </em>on contact with water.
Supercooling<span>, a state where liquids do not solidify even below their normal freezing point. Means sometimes we have liquid water below 0 degree C.</span>
