Question

In a vintage science fiction movie, space travelers find themselves on a planet orbiting a distant star in which there are curious forms of life based on silicon instead of carbon. Although the story clearly is a sci-fi, the choice of silicon as this alien life-form's central atom instead of carbon, seems plausible or credible, beacuse silicon has 14 protons. This means that silicon

Answer 1

Answer:

has 4 electrons in its valence shell.

Explanation:

Silicon has 14 protons, so its neutral atom has also 14 electrons, thus, the electron distribution following the Linus Pauling's diagram is:

1s² 2s²2p⁶ 3s²3p²

Thus, it has 4 electrons in its valence shell (3), likely carbon. So, silicon would have some of the properties of carbon, such as form 4 bonds, and the structure would be similar.