Question

what do sodium and chlorine have in common? they both have the same number of shells. they both have the same number of valence electrons. they both have the same number of protons.

Explanation:

• Sodium (\(Na\)) has an electron configuration of \(1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{1}\), so it has 3 electron shells. Chlorine (\(Cl\)) has an electron configuration of \(1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{5}\), so it also has 3 electron shells.
• Sodium has 1 valence electron (\(3s^{1}\)), while chlorine has 7 valence electrons (\(3s^{2}3p^{5}\)).
• The number of protons is equal to the atomic number. Sodium has an atomic number of 11 (11 protons), and chlorine has an atomic number of 17 (17 protons).

Answer:

They both have the same number of shells.