An atom's Lewis dot structure has three dots. Which of the following elements could it be, and why?

Aluminum, because it is in group 13 and has three valence electrons.
Lithium, because it is a group 1 element with three total electrons.
Magnesium, because it is in period 3 and has three valence electrons.
Potassium, because it is an alkali metal and has three inner shell electrons.

Question

An atom's Lewis dot structure has three dots. Which of the following elements could it be, and why?

Aluminum, because it is in group 13 and has three valence electrons.
 Lithium, because it is a group 1 element with three total electrons.
 Magnesium, because it is in period 3 and has three valence electrons.
 Potassium, because it is an alkali metal and has three inner shell electrons.

TheOfficialDevan12 · Answer

if you look at the periodic table you will find it is a row 2 collum 2 I think.  I just know its D.

Vocaloid · Answer

Politely disagree with the previous response.

Lewis diagrams only show valence electrons. Lithium and potassium are group 1 and thus only have 1 dot on a Lewis diagram. Magnesium has 2 valence electrons due to being group 2.

Aluminum has 3 valence electrons.

kekeman · Answer

@vocaloid wrote:

Politely disagree with the previous response. Lewis diagrams only show valence electrons. Lithium and potassium are group 1 and thus only have 1 dot on a Lewis diagram. Magnesium has 2 valence electrons due to being group 2. Aluminum has 3 valence electrons.

?

kekeman · Answer

So it would be aluminum?