Question

The valency of sulfur in sulfuric acid is:
A. $2$
B. $4$
C. $6$
D. $8$

Answer 1

The ability of an atom or an element to form chemical bonds with other elements. We know that sulfuric acid molecules are strong acids. In acids and bases, valency is the number of electrons which are exchanged, i.e. gained or lost.

Complete step by step answer:
The structure of sulfuric acid is given below:

Valency can also be explained as the number of electrons in the outermost shell. Now we can understand more about valency. The electrons are arranged in shells which are represented by K, L, M, N etc. These electrons are called valence electrons. These electrons are involved in the chemical bonding.
As we know that the sulfur element comes in the third group in the periodic table. It comes under the oxygen family. Thus it has six valence electrons. There are two hydroxyl groups and two oxo groups in sulfuric acid.
Valency tells the number of bonds sulfur can make with other elements. Sulfur forms six covalent bonds. Thus its valency is six. Thus sulfur has $6$ valence electrons. It donates six electrons to oxygen and hydroxyl groups.

Hence, the correct option is C.
Additional information:
Hybridization depends upon the number of valence electrons, number of monovalent atoms, cation charge and anion charge. The shape of sulfuric acid is tetrahedral having a bond angle of ${109.5^ \circ }$.

Note:
Sulfuric acid has ${{s}}{{{p}}^3}$ hybridization. When the atoms gain or lose electrons, it forms a complete octet. Thus it attains stability. When the atomic orbitals of different energies are mixed, new orbitals are formed which have almost the same energy and shape.