Question

The atomic number of an element X is 12.

1. What must an atom of X do to attain the nearest inert gas electron configuration?
2. Which inert gas is nearest to X?

Answer 1

1. An atom of X must lose its two electrons to attain the nearest inert gas electron configuration.
2. After losing 2 electrons, it will have 10 electrons, with the electronic configuration 2,8, which corresponds to neon gas. So, neon gas is the nearest inert gas to X.