Question

An atom of argon in the ground state tends not to bond with an atom of a different element because the argon atom has (a)a total of two valence electrons (b)more protons than neutrons (c)more neutrons than protons or (d)a total of eight valence electrons

Answer 1

Answer: Option (d) is the correct answer.

Explanation:

Atomic number of argon is 18 and its electronic configuration is $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}$.

Also, it is known that number of electrons in K, L and M shells of argon are 2, 8, 8.

Thus, we can conclude that an atom of argon in the ground state tends not to bond with an atom of a different element because the argon atom has a total of eight valence electrons.

So, as per the octet rule, last sub-shell of argon is completely filled. Hence, it will not form any bond with any other atom.

Answer 2

The answer is a total of eight valence electrons
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