General Chemistry Reviewer of electrons

S 2
Lesson 2: Electron Configuration
P 6
Table showing the maximum number of
electrons in each energy label. D 10

Energy Level Maximum number of F 14

electrons
K or 1 2
Maximum Number of electrons in Sublevels
L or 2 8
Sublevel Maximum number
M or 3 18 or 8
of electrons
N or 4 32, 18, or 8 S 2

O or 5 32,18 or 8 P 6

P or 6 18 or 8 D 10

Q or 7 8 F 14

The energy levels of the electrons of an Orbitals – region is space of where

atom are further divided into sublevels or electrons are stored. Sublevels of the
subshells electrons of an atom is divided into orbitals,
The sublevels are the s , p , d , f each accommodating a maximum of two
electrons
Number designation Maximum number of
Energy Level Letter electron Sublevel Name of Number of
designation Electron orbitals orbitals
Shell S s orbitals 1
K or 1 1s2 =2
=8 P p orbitals 3
2 6
L or 2 2s 2p
= 18 D d orbitals 5
M or 3 3s2 3p6 3d10 = 32
F f orbitals 7
= 32
N or 4 4s2 4p6 4d10 4d14
= 18
O or 5 5s2 5p6 5d10 5d14 =8
Each orbital can be represented by a box
P or 6 6s2 6p6 6d10 and each occupies a maximum of 2
Q or 7 7s2 7p6 electrons

s orbital = 1 box
Maximum Number of Electrons

Sublevel Maximum number p orbitals = 3 boxes


d orbitals = 5 boxes
f orbitals = 7 boxes
2) Hund’s Rule ( Frederick Hund )
Electrons should enter the orbitals of a
given sublevel singly w/ the same spin before
any pairing is done or electrons must first fill up
all the orbitals in the same subshell before
pairing up

3) Pauli Exclusion Principle ( Wolfgang Pauli )

Two electrons occupying an orbital should

have opposite sign. No more than two electrons
can occupy the same orbitals, provided they
have opposite spin. This are represented by
What is Electron Configuration? arrow ↑ and ↓

The electron configuration of an atom is a Note: Spin of an electron is either clockwise or

way of distributing the electrons of an atom counterclockwise.
among the orbitals of the atom
General representation of how electrons are
1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s distributed in a subshell with a shell of an
atom.
2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p

3d 4d 5d 6d

4f 5f

14 O8 = 1s2, 2s2, 2p4

40 Ca 20 = 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2 ,3p6, 4s2

Ag47 = 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2, 3d10, 4p6,

108

5s2,4d9

Sr38 = 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2,3d10, 4p6,

88
Show the electron configuration & orbital
5s2
diagram of 16 O8 & 40 Ca 20
The Electronic configuration of an atom can
be shown also by an Orbital Diagram, a
diagram that shows the distribution of
electrons in the orbitals & the relative spins
of electrons.

1) Aufbac Principle: It means building up.

Orbital diagram show that an oxygen has 2
Electrons will occupy the lowest available
unpaired electrons. An atom having one or
subshell.
more unpaired electrons is said to be
paramagnetic, it can be attracted by where : l is an integer
magnetic.
Sublevel l
40Ca20 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2
s 0

p 1

d 2

f 3

A calcium atom has no unpaired electrons.

If follows that calcium is diamagnetic, that 3. Magnetic Quantum Number
is, it is repelled by a magnet. An atom is - refers to the orbital and denoted by
diamagnetic when it has no unpaired (ml)
electrons. ml = - l to + l where : l is the
integer
Sublevel l Ml
s 0 0
What are the four Quantum numbers?
p 1 -1, 0, +1
1. Principal quantum Number (n) d 2 -2, -1, 0, +1, +2
f 3 -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2,
denoted by n, identifies the energy level of +3
the electron being referred. Positive values
s orbital p orbitals
of n are the integers from 1 to 7.

Energy Level n
K or 1 1

L or 2 2

M or 3 3

N or 4 4

O or 5 5

P or 6 6

Q or 7 7
4. Spin Quantum Number ( ms )
specifies the relative spin direction ( either
2. Angular Momentum Quantum Number
clockwise or counter clockwise) of the
(l )
electron, the value of ms is either - ½ or +
- is denoted by l, corresponds to the
½
subshell or sublevel. The values of l
What are the sets of quantum numbers of
depend on the value of n are given by the
the electrons in 2nd energy level
relation:
l = 0 to ( n – 1)
Solution:
 for the 2nd energy level, n =2. The
possible sublevels are 2s and 2p. The max.
No. of electrons in 2s and 2p are 2 & 6
respectively.
Orbital diagram for 2S2:
sublevel have the same energy. In an
atom, electrons or orbitals having the
same energy are said to degenerate.
Following the “n + l” rule, it would be
expected that some orbitals of different
energy levels may overlap

The overlapping of orbitals is brought

about by the nucleus-electron
attraction& electron-electron repulsion

A) Nucleus-electron attraction
Remember that the nucleus
contains the protons & the
neutrons of an atom; hence the
nucleus is positively charged. The
Orbital diagram for electronic configuration nucleus charged tends to pull an
2p6 electron closer to the nucleus &
thus, lowers the orbital energy of
2p6 Ms= 1/2 - 1/2 1/2 -1/2 1/2 1/2 the electron.

B) Electron-electron repulsion
N l ml ms Two electrons in the same
2 0 0 ½ energy level repel each other,
2 0 0 ½ causing the effect of the nuclear
2 0 -1 ½ charge to decrease. He electron-
2 0 -1 ½ electron repulsion in the same
2 0 0 ½ energy level tends to shield an
2 0 0 ½ electron from the nuclear charge;
2 0 +1 ½ hence, the orbital energy of the
2 0 +1 ½ electron increases. The reduction
of the effect of the nuclear charge
due to the repulsion of electron is
Relative Energies of Electrons what we call the shielding effect.
The “n + l” rule applies to the
arrangement of the orbitals of an atom. An electron in an inner
This rule states that the electrons orbital shields an electron in the
increase in energy as “n + l “ outer orbital & thus, preventing
furthermore, if two electrons of an atom the outer electron from feeling the
have the same sum “ n + l, then the one full effect of the nuclear charge.
having higher “ N value” has the higher Hence, the inner orbital increases
energy. It follows that the electrons the orbital energy of the outer
belonging to orbitals of the same orbital.