Answer : Option A) Fewer valence electrons
Explanation : Compared to the atoms of non metals in period 3, atoms of metals in period 3 have fewer valence electrons.
There are 8 elemental members in third period which are eight: sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and argon.
The first 2 elements belong to s-block whereas the other elements belong to p-block. The atomic radius is found to decrease across the period.
The electrons in the valence shell increases as we go from left to right in the period, which means when we move from metal to non-metal side the number of valence electrons also increases. This clearly shows that metals have fewer valence electrons as compared to the non-metals.
