(a) What are noble gases? What is the characteristic of the electronic configuration of noble gases?
(b) What is the cause of chemical bonding (or chemical combination) of atoms of elements?
(a) There are some elements in group 18 of the periodic table which do not combine with other elements. These elements are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. They are known as noble gases or inert gases because they are unreactive.
If we look at the electronic configuration of noble gases, we would notice that except helium, all other inert gases have 8 electrons (helium has 2) in their outermost shells. This is considered to be the most stable arrangement of electrons.
(b) Atoms form chemical bonds to achieve stability by acquiring the inert gas electron configuration.