Question

The elements located in the first column, or group, in the periodic table all share a similar electron configuration. If the atom is neutral, how many electrons are found in the outermost shell of each of these elements? A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4

Answer 1

1.
Take Lithium for an example. It would be able to fill up the 1s orbital, but then once it tried to fill up the 2s orbital, it would only have one electron left, since each s orbital can hold 2 electrons.