ELECTRON

CONFIGURATI
ON
Here starts the
lesson!
 ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
• The electron configuration describes how the electrons are
distributed in the various atomic orbitals.
• The sublevel is written followed by a superscript with the
number of electrons in the sublevel.
 2 WAYS TO WRITE
ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
1. spdf Notation
2. Orbital Box Notation
 Orbital Box
spdf Notation Notation
The different sublevels are designated as
s, p, d, and f. The maximum number of
electrons they can take is as follows:
● s-sublevel – 2 electrons
● p-sublevel – 6 electrons
● d-sublevel – 10 electrons
● f-sublevel – 14 electrons
Each sublevel is divided into orbitals, and
each orbital can take a maximum of two
electrons. The number of orbitals is as
follows:
● s-sublevel – 1 orbital
● p-sublevel – 3 orbitals
● d-sublevel – 5 orbitals
● f-sublevel – 7 orbitals
 3 RULES GOVERN
ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS:
1. Aufbau Principle

2. Pauli Exclusion Principle

3. Hund's Rule
AUFBAU (BUILDING-UP)
PRINCIPLE
● Electrons in an atom occupy first the lowest
possible energy levels and/or orbitals
● The lower the principal quantum number
(n) the lower the energy.
● Within an energy level, s orbitals are the
lowest energy, followed by p, d and then f.
F orbitals are the highest energy for that
level.
 PAULI'S EXCLUSION
PRINCIPLE
- States that an atomic orbital may have
up to 2 electrons and then it is full.
- The spins have to be paired.
- We usually represent this with an up
- Since there is only 1 s orbital per energy
level, only 2 electrons fill that orbital.
HUND’S RULE
- States that when you get to
degenerate orbitals, you fill them
all half way first, and then you
start pairing up the electrons.

- Degenerate means they have the

same energy.
Electron Configurations
and the Periodic Table
● The periodic table can be used as a
guide for electron configurations.
● The period number is the value of n.
● Groups 1A and 2A have the s-orbital
filled.
● Groups 3A - 8A have the p-orbital
filled.
● Groups 3B - 2B have the d-orbital
filled.
● The lanthanides and actinides have the
f-orbital filled.
 STEPS IN WRITING
ELECTRON
1. Determine CONFIGURATION
the atomic number of the element from the Periodic Table.
- This gives the number of protons and electrons in the atom

2. Draw 9 boxes to represent the first 3 energy levels s and p orbitals

3. Add one electron to each box in a set, then pair the electrons before
going to the next set until you use all the electrons

4. Use the diagram to write the electron configuration

 n u m b e rs
he
t h a t al l t n o
Note e electro add up tr
in th igurationumber fo Ne
conf tomic n Ex: for
t h e a e l e me n t .
that 0),
(Z=1+6 = 10
2 +2
SHORTHAND ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
• Because electrons fill orbitals in a regular pattern, we can shorten the work of
writing electron configurations by using the preceding noble gas as a template
• We write the highest shell last to indicate the
"valence electrons" - i.e. those furthest out (involved in bonding and chemical
reactions)
• We can represent shorthand electron configurations of the noble gasses 2 ways:
E.g.
Ar = 1s2222p6323p6 = [Ne]3s23p6 = [Ar]