How many electrons are there in the outermost shell of a group 16 element?

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SSC CGL 2021 Tier-I (Held On : 18 April 2022 Shift 2)
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  1. 5
  2. 4
  3. 3
  4. 6

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4 : 6
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Detailed Solution

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The correct answer is 6.

Key Points

  • The Elements of group 16 such as Oxygen, Sulfur, Selenium, Tellurium, Polonium and all have 6 electrons on the outermost cell.
  • The 's' valence shells always contain 2 electrons, the 'p' valence shell contains 4 electrons.
  • The elements present in group 16 consist of oxygen (0), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and polonium (Po).

  • Of all the elements, only Polonium is radioactive. 
  • Group 16 electron configuration indicates that its members of Group 16 have six elements in its valence shell, and therefore require two elements to complete the octet valency.
  • Therefore, all the elements of group 16 are negatively charged since they can receive two electrons from other elements. 

Important Points

Atomic Number Element Configuration
8 Oxygen He,2s22p4
16 Sulfur Ne,3s23p4
34 Selenium Ar,3d104s24p4
52 Tellurium Kr,4d105s25p4
84 Polonium Xe,4f145d106s26p4
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