Question

How does the octet rule relate to how active an element is?

Answer 1

Octet rule states that an atom or element in the periodic table tends to combine with other atoms or elements and tries to attain 8 electrons in the outermost shell like the noble gas to attain stability.

1. So those elements which can easily attain octet rule are highly active.

eg: Sodium and chlorine.

Sodium has one outermost electron and can attain octet rule by losing this one electron

Chlorine has 7 outhermost electron and can attain octet rule by gaining one electron.

So Sodium and Chlorine are highly active as they can easily attain stability by losing or gaining one electron to attain octet.

2. And thus octet rule easily explains why an element or atom is highly active.