Electron Configurations

Front

What is an electron configuration?

Back

An electron configuration is the distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals, indicating the energy levels and sublevels occupied by electrons.

Front

What is the Aufbau principle?

Back

The Aufbau principle states that electrons occupy the lowest energy orbitals first before filling higher energy orbitals.

Front

What is the Pauli Exclusion Principle?

Back

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons in an atom can have the same set of four quantum numbers, meaning an orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons with opposite spins.

Front

What is Hund's Rule?

Back

Hund's Rule states that electrons will fill degenerate orbitals (orbitals of the same energy) singly before pairing up in the same orbital.

Front

What is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy a single orbital?

Back

A single orbital can hold a maximum of 2 electrons.

Front

What is the significance of the 'n' value in electron configurations?

Back

The 'n' value represents the principal quantum number, indicating the energy level of the electron and its distance from the nucleus.

Front

What follows 4s in the order of filling orbitals?

Back

4p follows 4s in the order of filling orbitals.

Front

What is the shorthand notation for electron configurations?

Back

Shorthand notation uses the nearest noble gas to represent core electrons, followed by the valence electrons in order of filling.

Front

How many half-filled orbitals does silicon have?

Back

Silicon has 2 half-filled orbitals.

Front

What is the electron configuration for Tin (Sn)?

Back

The shorthand electron configuration for Tin (Sn) is [Kr]5s²4d¹⁰5p².