The element sulfur has an atomic number of 16 and mass number of 32. How many neutrons are in the nucleus of a sulfur atom? If sulfur forms covalent bonds with hydrogen, how many hydrogen atoms can bond to one sulfur atom?
The number of neutrons in an atom is equal to the mass number minus the atomic number. Thus, sulfur has 32 - 16 = 16 neutrons. The atomic number indicates the number of protons, so a neutral sulfur atom contains 16 protons plus 16 electrons to balance the protons electrically. The electrons would be distributed as follows: 2 in the first electron shell, 8 in the second, and the remaining 6 in the third. To achieve a full 8 electrons in the third (outermost) electron shell, the sulfur atom can accept 2 electrons in an ionic bond or can share 2 electrons in a covalent bond. Because hydrogen atoms can share one electron in a covalent bond, the sulfur atom can form two covalent bonds with hydrogen, one with each of two hydrogen atoms. In chemical notation, this is H2S.
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