Question

Define valency by taking an example of oxygen

Answer 1

valency of an atom is the combining capacity of an atom. if the outermost shell of an atom has less than 4 electrons, then it'll share electrons with other atoms and if it has more than 4 electrons then it'll gain electrons. take example of oxygen. oxygen's atomic number is 8. it's electronic configuration - 2, 6
the last shell of oxygen atom has 6 electrons means more than 4 electrons. hence, it'll gain 2 electrons as the maximum no. of electrons in the outermost shell can be 8. so 8 - 6 = 2 electrons

Answer 2

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The combining capacity of the atoms in a element is known as valency.

Example: Valency of oxygen is 2