Electron Configurations and Orbital Notation

Front

What are valence electrons?

Back

Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost shell of an atom, specifically in the last s or s and p orbitals.

Front

What does an orbital diagram represent?

Back

An orbital diagram visually represents the distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals, showing how many electrons occupy each orbital.

Front

What happens when electrons move from a higher energy level to a lower energy level?

Back

Light is emitted when electrons transition from a higher energy level to a lower energy level.

Front

What is Hund's rule?

Back

Hund's rule states that all orbitals of equal energy must be occupied by one electron before any orbital is occupied by a second electron.

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.

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

How do you determine the electron configuration of an element?

Back

The electron configuration of an element is determined by the number of electrons it has and the order in which they fill the orbitals according to the Aufbau principle.

Front

What is an orbital?

Back

An orbital is a region in an atom where there is a high probability of finding electrons.

Front

What is the significance of the quantum numbers?

Back

Quantum numbers describe the properties of atomic orbitals and the electrons in those orbitals, including their energy level, shape, and orientation.

Front

What is the difference between an atom's ground state and excited state?

Back

An atom's ground state is its lowest energy configuration, while an excited state occurs when one or more electrons have absorbed energy and moved to a higher energy level.