Which element will only gain one electron during a chemical reaction?

a.
chlorine

b.
sulfur

c.
phosphorous

d.
silicon

A. Chlorine

During a chemical reaction, chlorine will only gain one electron.

Now, let's see the options one by one:

1. Option A is correct since on gaining one electron chlorine will attain stable electronic configuration. It belongs to halogen family i.e. group 17 and the electrons in the outermost shell is 7 which is one less to attain noble gas configuration which is stable.

2. Option B, Sulfur belongs to group 16 and it has 6 electrons in the outermost shell which means it requires two more electrons to attain stable electronic configuration. Thus this option is incorrect.

3. Option C, Phosphorus belongs to group 15 and it has 5 electrons in the outermost shell which means it requires three more electrons to attain stable electronic configuration. Thus this option is incorrect.

4. Option D, Silicon belongs to group 14 and it has 4 electrons in the outermost shell which means it requires four more electrons to attain stable electronic configuration. Thus this option is incorrect.

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The element that will gain one electron during chemical reaction is "Chlorine"

Explanation:

The ability of electrons to lose or gain electrons is called as the chemical reactivity. As we move from the left to right in the periodic table the chemical reactivity increases. As the valence shell which are nearer to the nucleus when we start moving left to right. When new electrons are added to valence shell will become easier as they have greater attraction between nucleus and the electrons. The element chlorine lies in the group 17 and period 3. Thus, chlorine will readily accept electron because of its position in the periodic table.

false

because it does not have the potential to be entirely used up