 Flerovium is a member of group 14 in the periodic table , below carbon , silicon , germanium , tin , and lead . Every previous group 14 element has four electrons in its valence shell , forming a valence electron configuration of <unk> . In flerovium 's case , the trend will be continued and the valence electron configuration is predicted to be 7s27p2 ; flerovium will behave similarly to its lighter congeners in many respects . Differences are likely to arise ; a largely contributing effect is the spin – orbit ( SO ) interaction — the mutual interaction between the electrons ' motion and spin . It is especially strong for the superheavy elements , because their electrons move faster than in lighter atoms , at velocities comparable to the speed of light . In relation to flerovium atoms , it lowers the 7s and the 7p electron energy levels ( stabilizing the corresponding electrons ) , but two of the 7p electron energy levels are stabilized more than the other four . The stabilization of the 7s electrons is called the inert pair effect , and the effect " tearing " the 7p subshell into the more stabilized and the less stabilized parts is called subshell splitting . Computation chemists see the split as a change of the second ( azimuthal ) quantum number l from 1 to 1 ⁄ 2 and 3 ⁄ 2 for the more stabilized and less stabilized parts of the 7p subshell , respectively . For many theoretical purposes , the valence electron configuration may be represented to reflect the 7p subshell split as 7s27p2 
