Competency #6
Answer and Explanation
Bohr model for a neutral neon atom:
Note: The number of neutrons in the nucleus will vary from one neon atom to the next. The isotope shown is neon-20, which is the most common isotope of neon and has 10 neutrons and a mass number of 20.
As you can see, a neutral neon ion has a full outer shell. Looking at the diagram above, we see that the outer shell currently has 8 electrons. We know that the 2nd shell has a capacity for 8 electrons. Therefore, the outer shell for a neutral neon atom is full and we predict that it will not form an ion!
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