Question

The electrons present in the valence shell of a noble gas atom can be ______.

Options

• 8 only

• 2 only

• 8 or 2

• 8 or 4

Answer 1

The electrons present in the valence shell of a noble gas atom can be 8 or 2.

Explanation:

The noble gases generally have a completely filled valence shell containing 8 electrons, which provides them with high chemical stability (the octet rule). However, helium is a unique exception in this group because it has only one electron shell; it is fully stable with just 2 valence electrons (the duet rule). Therefore, a noble gas atom can have either 8 or 2 electrons in its outermost shell.