An element A has 2 electrons in its, fourth shell. State is it an oxidizing or reducing agent ?

Explanation

To determine whether element A, which has 2 electrons in its fourth shell, is an oxidizing or reducing agent, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the Element
- The element A has 2 electrons in its fourth shell. According to the electron configuration, the fourth shell can hold a maximum of 32 electrons, but in this case, we are only concerned with the valence electrons.
- The electron configuration of the first three shells is 2 (first shell), 8 (second shell), and 8 (third shell), which means the element is likely to be calcium (Ca), as it has the configuration 2, 8, 8, 2.

### Step 2: Understand Oxidizing and Reducing Agents
- An **oxidizing agent** is a substance that can accept electrons from another substance, thereby causing that substance to be oxidized.
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