How many valence electrons are in an atom of gold?

Interesting question ….Gold (Au) atomic number 79 has an electronic structure 2, 8, 18, 32, 1. So straight away from this fact, you would say it has 1 valence electron, its outer single electron. And indeed, it forms many univalent compounds such as the gold halides (AuF, AuCl, AuBr). read more

So, gold is a metal known as a transition metal, meaning that its number of valence electrons is not always constant, and will depend on the formula it is involved in. However, gold most typically has one (1) valence election, and occasionally three (3) valence electrons. read more

(2 in the K shell, 6 in the L shell.) This sets up the natual combination of two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom, The Hydrogen shares its valence electron with one of the two from the oxygen, while the other hydrogrem atom shares its electron with the other valence electron on the other oxygen. This is water. read more