General Chemistry MCAT:

1. What is the abbreviated electron configuration for sodium?

(a !"e# $s1
(b 1s% %s%%&'$s%$&'
(c !Ar# $s1
(d "a(
)*&lanation: The abbreviated electron configuration is written with the next smallest
noble gas followed by the subshells of the specified atom. In this case, the next smallest
noble gas for Na is neon [Ne]. The subshells of sodium following is 3s

. Thus the correct

answer is !"#.
%. A gas bubble is located at the bottom of a +ater,filled container. As the bubble is
rising to+ard the surface- +hich of the follo+ing occurs? Assume the gas does not
dissolve into the +ater.
!a# The bubble becomes smaller.
!b# The water level rises.
!c# The bubble becomes larger.
!d# The water level lowers.
)*&lanation: The amount of gas in the bubble remains constant, since none will dissolve
into the water. "s the bubble rises through the water, the external pressure on the bubble
decreases according to
$ressure % &gh where & is the density of the water.
Thus, as the bubble rises, the volume increases as the ratio of the internal pressure to
external pressure increases. The correct answer is !'#.
$. .und/s rule states that:
!a# electrons fill orbitals from the lowest energy to highest energy
!b# electrons are paired with each other with the same spin in orbitals
!c# electrons are promoted to higher energy levels only when illuminated by light of
specific fre(uency
!d# electrons do not &air +ith each other in an orbital until all orbitals in the
subshell have one electron of the same s&in
)*&lanation: !"# represents "ufbau)s principle. !*# is false+ electrons fill orbitals with
opposite spin. !'# while true, does not correspond to ,und)s rule. Thus, the correct
answer is !-#.
The electrons gather around the nucleus in (uantum orbitals following four basic rules
called the aufbau &rinci&le.
no two electrons in the atom will share the same four (uantum numbers n, l, m,
and s.
electrons will first occupy orbitals of the lowest energy level.
electrons will fill an orbital with the same spin number until the orbital is filled
before it will begin to fill of the opposite spin number.
electrons will fill orbitals by the sum of the (uantum numbers n and l. .rbitals
with e(ual values of !n/l# will fill with the lower n values first.
0. Which of the follo+ing has the largest atomic radius?
(a 1
(b 1,
(c Cl
(d Cl,
)*&lanation: "nions are larger than neutral species due to electron repulsion. 0ince 'l is
lower than 1 on the periodic table, it has the larger radius. The ionic form of 'l would be
larger than neutral 'l. Thus, the correct answer is !-#.
'ations and anions do not actually represent a periodic trend in terms of atomic radius,
but they do affect atomic radius,
A cation is positively charged, meaning that it is an atom that has lost an electron or
electrons. The positive charge of the nucleus is thus distributed over a smaller number of
electrons and electron2electron repulsion is decreased, meaning that the electrons are
held more tightly and the atomic radius is smaller than in the normal neutral atom.
Anions- conversely, are negatively charged ions+ atoms that have gained electrons. In
anions, electron,electron re&ulsion increases and the &ositive charge of the nucleus is
distributed over a large number of electrons. "nions have a greater atomic radius
than the neutral atom from which they derive.
Atomic 2adius
The atomic radius of an element is half of the distance between the centers of two atoms
of that element that are 3ust touching each other. 4enerally, the atomic radius decreases
across a &eriod from left to right and increases do+n a given grou&. The atoms with
the largest atomic radii are located in 4roup I and at the bottom of groups.
Moving from left to right across a &eriod, electrons are added one at a time to the outer
energy shell. 5lectrons within a shell cannot shield each other from the attraction to
protons. 0ince the number of protons is also increasing, the effective nuclear charge
increases across a period. This causes the atomic radius to decrease.
Moving do+n a grou& in the &eriodic table, the number of electrons and filled electron
shells increases, but the number of valence electrons remains the same. The outermost
electrons in a group are exposed to the same effective nuclear charge, but electrons are
found farther from the nucleus as the number of filled energy shells increases. Therefore,
the atomic radii increase.
The atomic radius tends to decrease as one progresses across a period because the
effective nuclear charge increases, thereby attracting the orbiting electrons and lessening
the radius.
The atomic radius usually increases while going down a group due to the addition of a
new energy level !shell#. The atomic radius increases moving down a group. .nce again
protons are added moving down a group, but so are new energy shells of electrons. The
new energy shells provide shielding, allowing the valence electrons to experience only a
minimal amount of the protons6 positive charge.
,owever, diagonally, the number of protons has a larger effect than the si7eable radius.
1or example, lithium !89 picometer# has a smaller atomic radius than magnesium !9:
picometer#. "tomic radius decreases from left to right across a period, and also increases
from top to bottom down a group. N.T5+ pm%x:;2< meters