How to Find the Number of Valence Electrons for Transition Metals

To find the number of valence electrons for Transition Metals we need to look at its electron configuration. This is necessary because for Transition Metals (d block elements) we need to take into account electrons found in the d orbitals.

Note the Transition Metals are found in Groups 3-14 on the Periodic Table and have incomplete d subshells (or form cations with incomplete subshells).

We first write the electron configuration for the Transition metal. For example for Fe, the electron configuration is:

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d6 4s2


Next, we convert this to the condensed configuration. For Fe we have:

[Ar] 3d6 4s2

This allows us to look at the number of electrons outside of the Noble Gas core. For Fe this means we have 8 valence electrons.

For transition metals, like Fe, not all of the valence electrons have to be used to form chemical bonds with other elements. Transition metals often have several oxidation states that depend on how many valance electrons are lost to the element(s) they are bonded to.

Helpful videos:
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• Finding Valence Electrons (molecule):    • Finding the Number of Valence Electro...  
• How to Draw Lewis Structures:    • How to Draw Lewis Structures: Five Ea...  

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