Using the "NAS" idea, how many electrons are "needed" for the compound HOCl? Hint: Remember H only needs 2 electrons. \( \begin{aligned} \text { rather than } 8 \\ \text { C. } 36\end{aligned} \)

To determine how many electrons are needed for the compound HOCl (hypochlorous acid), let’s break it down. Hydrogen (H) only needs 2 electrons to fill its shell. Oxygen (O) requires 8 electrons, and chlorine (Cl) also needs 8 electrons to achieve a stable configuration. In HOCl, there’s 1 hydrogen, 1 oxygen, and 1 chlorine, so: - H needs 2 electrons (1 bond) - O needs 6 additional electrons (1 bond with H and 1 bond with Cl) - Cl needs 8 electrons (1 bond with O) In total, HOCl requires 2 + 6 + 8 = 16 electrons, but since we’re interested in how many are "needed" rather than the total, it can be calculated based on the number of reactive bonds formed in the compound; thus the answer revolves around ensuring proper bonding, which is a fundamental concept in chemistry.