The valence electrons (VE) are the electrons in the outer shell of an atom. The valence electrons are the ones involved in forming bonds to adjacent atoms. Therefore, the number of VE is important for determining the number of bonds an atom will form, the number of unpaired electrons, and an atomâs formal charge.
An exclamation point denotes something called a factorial. The formal definition of #n!# (n factorial) is the product of all the natural numbers less than or equal to #n#. In math symbols: #n! = n*(n-1)*(n-2)...#. Trust me, it's less confusing than it sounds. Say you wanted to find #5!#. You just multiply all the numbers less than or equal to #5# until you get to #1#: #5!
What does ! mean in math? I'm doing sequences and series in calculus, and I keep seeing the ! sign. I don't remember learning about it. Update: To the poster who tried to correct my grammar: both 'exclamation mark' and 'exclamation point' are accepted. 'Exclamation point' is more commonly used in Britain and commonwealth countries (and hey, I happen to be from a Commonwealth country!).