1. Electron Configurations:
* Potassium (K): [Ar] 4s¹ (1 valence electron)
* Nitrogen (N): [He] 2s² 2p³ (5 valence electrons)
2. Ion Formation:
* Potassium (K): Potassium wants to lose its one valence electron to achieve a stable noble gas configuration like Argon. It forms a +1 cation (K⁺).
* Nitrogen (N): Nitrogen wants to gain three electrons to achieve a stable noble gas configuration like Neon. It forms a -3 anion (N³⁻).
3. Balancing Charges:
To create a neutral compound, we need three potassium ions (K⁺) to balance the charge of one nitride ion (N³⁻). This gives us the formula K₃N.
4. Electron Transfer:
* Each potassium atom loses one electron (a total of 3 electrons from the three potassium atoms).
* The nitrogen atom gains three electrons.
Answer: Three valence electrons are transferred from the nitrogen atom to potassium in the formation of potassium nitride.
