Valence Electrons

Students did very well on their Unit 2 Test on the periodic table and were happy to receive their grades.

We have now moved on to Unit 3 Bonding and Nomenclature. Students picked their own groups and had new teams to work with.

Today we learned about valence electrons, how to find them, and why they are important. Valence electrons are the outermost electrons and they are important because they participate in reactions and help you identify an atom's potential charge.

Once you know the number of valence electrons, you can use that information to figure out which noble gas that element wants to be like (noble gases are hip, cool, and happy because they have a full 8 valence electrons), and if they need to gain or lose electrons to be like that atom.

After learning the information, students participated in some practice and then whiteboard jeopardy. Kelsea and Angie led the practice round, but the boys (Kyle, Ryan, Justin, and Elijah) won in competition. Congratulations. Students will have a small quiz on this material tomorrow and will learn more about bonding and molecules.