Home
/
Chemistry
/
4. Zinc phosphide Zn_(3)P_(2) is often used as a rat poison. Phosphorus has 5 valence electrons How many valence electrons does each zinc atom lose? O1 2 3 4

Question

4. Zinc phosphide Zn_(3)P_(2)
is often used as a rat poison. Phosphorus has 5 valence electrons How many valence electrons does each zinc atom lose?
O1
2
3
4

4. Zinc phosphide Zn_(3)P_(2) is often used as a rat poison. Phosphorus has 5 valence electrons How many valence electrons does each zinc atom lose? O1 2 3 4

expert verifiedVerification of experts

Answer

4.3300 Voting
avatar
LyleProfessional · Tutor for 6 years

Answer

Each zinc atom loses 2 valence electrons.

Explain

## Step 1<br />Zinc Phosphide, denoted as \(Zn_3P_2\), is a compound formed by the combination of Zinc and Phosphorus. Phosphorus has a valence of 5, meaning it has 5 valence electrons, and it needs 3 more electrons to achieve a stable configuration.<br />## Step 2<br />Zinc has a valence of 2, meaning it needs to lose 2 electrons to achieve a stable configuration.<br />## Step 3<br />Since Zinc Phosphide (Zn3P2) is made of 3 Zinc atoms and 2 Phosphorus atoms, the 2 Phosphorus atoms will require a total of 6 valence electrons.<br />## Step 4<br />Given that there are 3 Zinc atoms, with each having a valence of 2, each Zinc atom has to lose only its 2 valence electrons to satisfy one Phosphorus atom.
Click to rate:

Hot Questions

More x