# Valence electrons in helium?

I am having trouble understanding how valence electrons are counted in Helium.

My references are:

1. Here where it appears that Helium has 0 valence electrons because the shells are finished
2. Here where it appears that Helium has two valence electrons (which is what I thought)

How many valence electrons does helium have?

• You're comparing Wikipedia on the same grounds as a comment in a funny picture? I'm sure you can answer your own question... – Nicolau Saker Neto Jun 1 '13 at 23:04
• @NicolauSakerNeto Appears to be from a test question. – Mikhail Jun 2 '13 at 6:54

Helium has two electrons in total, and according to the aufbau principle, it adopts the electronic configuration $\mathrm{1s^2}$. This means it has two electrons in s orbitals with a principal quantum number of 1.

The last (and only) level of helium's electronic configuration is $\mathrm{1s^2}$, and therefore $\ce{He}$ has 2 valence electrons.

• I would like to add that the "valency" is 0 although it has two "valence" electrons. – Eric Brown Jun 1 '13 at 23:25

### Valence electrons

Valence electrons are electrons in the outermost shell of an atom

### Valency

Valency is the number of electrons involved in the formation of a chemical bond

The number of valence electrons of helium is 2 because of its configuration which is $$1s^2$$