The chalogen containing equal number of 's' and 'p' electrons is

Options

A. O
B. S
C. Se
D. Te

Answer

To solve the question of which chalcogen contains an equal number of 's' and 'p' electrons, we will analyze the electronic configurations of the elements in the chalcogen group (Group 16) of the periodic table.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Chalcogen Group Elements**:
The chalcogen group consists of the following elements: Oxygen (O), Sulfur (S), Selenium (Se), and Tellurium (Te).

2. **Determine the Atomic Numbers**:
- Oxygen (O) - Atomic number 8
- Sulfur (S) - Atomic number 16
- Selenium (Se) - Atomic number 34
- Tellurium (Te) - Atomic number 52

3. **Write the Electronic Configurations**:
- For Oxygen (O):
- Atomic number 8: The electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^4\).
- Number of 's' electrons = 2 (from 1s and 2s)
- Number of 'p' electrons = 4 (from 2p)
- For Sulfur (S):
- Atomic number 16: The electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^4\).
- Number of 's' electrons = 4 (2 from 1s + 2 from 2s)
- Number of 'p' electrons = 6 (6 from 2p + 4 from 3p)
- For Selenium (Se):
- Atomic number 34: The electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 4p^4\).
- Number of 's' electrons = 6 (2 from 1s + 2 from 2s + 2 from 3s)
- Number of 'p' electrons = 10 (6 from 2p + 6 from 3p + 4 from 4p)
- For Tellurium (Te):
- Atomic number 52: The electronic configuration is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 4p^6 5s^2 5p^4\).
- Number of 's' electrons = 8 (2 from 1s + 2 from 2s + 2 from 3s + 2 from 4s)
- Number of 'p' electrons = 12 (6 from 2p + 6 from 3p + 6 from 4p + 4 from 5p)

4. **Compare the Number of 's' and 'p' Electrons**:
- Oxygen: 2 's' electrons and 4 'p' electrons (not equal)
- Sulfur: 4 's' electrons and 6 'p' electrons (not equal)
- Selenium: 6 's' electrons and 10 'p' electrons (not equal)
- Tellurium: 8 's' electrons and 12 'p' electrons (not equal)

5. **Conclusion**:
After analyzing the electronic configurations, we find that none of the chalcogens have an equal number of 's' and 'p' electrons. However, if we consider only the number of electrons in the outermost shell for oxygen, we see that it has 2 's' and 4 'p' electrons, which does not meet the criteria of being equal.

### Final Answer:
None of the chalcogens contain an equal number of 's' and 'p' electrons.