ELECTRON CONFIGURATION

Where did we leave off?

________ - gave us the idea of electrons of
negative charges in the atom. His experiment
included a cathode ray tube.
________ - said electrons move in orbits
around the nucleus.
________ - said electrons DO NOT move in

orbits. Instead, they are moving all over the

place in a cloud around the nucleus.

The current atom

With the help of scientists and research we

know that our atom looks like this:

Bohr Model
Inaccurate model of electron movement around the nucleus
BUT it gave us insight to electron position around the nucleus
When excited electrons jump up to a higher level. They soon come

back down to their original position and release energy in a specific

color
ELECTRONS 'JUMPING' IN ACTION - FLAME TESTS

What element is this?

Electrons dont move in a

planetary orbit, they move
in orbitals
Orbitals - the shape of the space an electron

occupies in an atom
This is based on the combination of many things

including its energy level

Describing exactly where electrons are takes
complex mathematics

Instead of math, we will just

describe the orbitals using
Electron configuration!
Write:
electron configuration is a shorthand description of

how electrons are arranged around the nucleus of an

atom.
Tells us which obitals electrons are located in.

THE FOUR ORBITALS

s orbitals
Sphere
Holds 2 e-

p orbitals
dumbbell-shaped
Holds 6 e-

 d orbitals
like balloons tied together

or balloons with a hula hoop

Holds 10 e-

f orbitals
Egg/Jellybean shaped
Holds 14 e-

We can use the periodic table to predict

which sublevel is being filled by a
particular element.

A trick to remember

Write
this on
your
guided
notes

Electron Configurations
The sublevel is written followed by a superscript

with the number of electrons in the sublevel.

If the 2p sublevel contains 2 electrons, it is written 2p2

Writing Electron Configurations

First, determine how many electrons are in the atom.
Arrange the energy sublevels according to increasing

energy:
1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d

Fill each sublevel with electrons until you have used

all the electrons in the atom:

Fe: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d 6

The sum of the superscripts equals the atomic

number of iron (26)

Lets practice writing

configurations
Phosphorous
Start with the lowest energy level and start filling:
1s22s22p63s23p3
Add the subscripts up and make sure they add up

to 15 electrons.
2 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 3 = 15

Lets Practice
Vanadium
Start with the lowest energy level and

start filling!
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d3
Add the subscripts
2 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 3 = 23

Lets Practice
Chromium
Chlorine
Magnesium
5 minutes. Work in your table groups. Be

prepared to share your answers with the

class.

But wait! Theres a shortcut:

NOBLE GAS CONFIGURATION
Use the exact same rules from earlier
The only difference is
Find the previous noble gas and give the electron

configuration from that point.

Noble Gas Configuration

TOP LINE: full electron configuration for Iron

(Fe)
Atomic # : 26
BOTTOM LINE: noble gas electron
configuration
Starts at Argon (Ar) with an atomic # of 18

Practice
As a class:
Niobium (Nb)

Titanium (Ti)