Part 2: Answer the following questions about ionic compounds. 1. What are valence electrons? __ 2. Why are valence electrons important? __ 3. How can you determine how many valence electrons an element has? __

## Step 1<br />Valence electrons are the electrons that reside in the outermost shell of an atom. These electrons are the most loosely bound to the nucleus and are the most likely to be involved in chemical reactions.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />Valence electrons are important because they determine the chemical properties of an atom. They are the electrons that participate in the formation of chemical bonds with other atoms. The number of valence electrons an atom has can determine whether it will donate, accept, or share electrons in a chemical reaction.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />To determine the number of valence electrons an element has, we need to look at its group number in the periodic table. For elements in the main groups (1, 2, and 13-18), the group number is equal to the number of valence electrons. For example, elements in Group 1 have 1 valence electron, elements in Group 2 have 2 valence electrons, and elements in Group 13 have 3 valence electrons. For elements in the transition metals (Groups 3-12), the number of valence electrons can vary.