To determine how lithium achieves stability, let's examine its electronic configuration and its behavior in forming ions.
1. Understanding Lithium's Atomic Number:
- Lithium (Li) has an atomic number of 3, which means it has 3 protons and, in its neutral state, 3 electrons.
2. Electron Configuration:
- The electron configuration of a neutral lithium atom is [tex]\(1s^2 2s^1\)[/tex]. This means:
- Two electrons are in the first energy level (1s).
- One electron is in the second, outermost energy level (2s).
3. Stability and Valence Electrons:
- Atoms achieve stability by having a full outer electron shell. For most elements, a complete outer shell consists of 8 electrons, but for small atoms like lithium, full stability can resemble the electron configuration of the nearest noble gas, Helium (He), which has 2 electrons.
- Lithium can achieve stability by modifying its electron configuration to match that of Helium.
4. Achieving Stability:
- To achieve this stability, lithium needs to lose its one electron in the outermost 2s shell. This results in the formation of a [tex]\(Li^+\)[/tex] ion, which then has 2 electrons (the same electron configuration as Helium).
Thus, lithium achieves stability by losing one electron. So, the correct answer is:
Losing one electron
