To determine the number of valence electrons for CO, the Carbon monoxide molecule, we’ll use the Periodic Table. Organizing the Periodic Table by Group, skipping the transition metals, makes it clear how many valence electrons there are for each element in CO.

How to Draw the CO Lewis Structure: [ Ссылка ]

Valence Electrons for Cobalt (Co): [ Ссылка ]

---Valence Electrons by Group on Periodic Table---

Group 1: one valence electron
Group 2: two
Skip the Transition Metals
Group 13 (3A): three
Group 14 (4A): four
Group 15 (5A): five
Group 16 (6A): six
Group 17 (7A): seven
Group 18 (8A): eight*
*Helium only has two valence electrons even thought it is in Group 18 (8A).
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For CO, we have a total of 10 valence electrons. C is in Group 14 (4A) and O is in Group 16 (6A). Therefore we have 4 + 6 = 10 for the Carbon monoxide molecule.

Valence electrons are important because they are the electrons on the outside of an atom and are able to form chemical bonds. We consider them to be in the outer shell of an atom and they influence the chemical properties of an atom. When we draw a Lewis Structure for a molecule like CO we need to take the number of valence electrons for each atom into account.

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