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General Chemistry 1
Quarter 2 - Module 2
Electron Configuration and Magnetic
Property of Atoms

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Department of Education ● Republic of the Philippines

General Chemistry I- Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Code
Quarter 2 - Module 2: Electron Configuration and Magnetic Property
of Atoms
First Edition, 2020

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General
Chemistry 1
Quarter 2 - Module 2
Electron Configuration and Magnetic
Property of Atoms

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 Table of Contents

What This Module is About........................................................................................................................i

What I Need to Know...................................................................................................................................i
How to Learn from this Module.................................................................................................................ii
Icons of this Module.....................................................................................................................................ii

What I Know...................................................................................................................................................iii

Lesson 1:
Electron Configuration and the Magnetic Property of Atoms
What’s In.....................................................................................................1
What’s New: What is the mystery word?.....................................................2
What Is It ...................................................................................................3
What’s More: Electron configuration and Orbital diagrams ….....................6
What’s More: Label it!.................................................................................6
What I Have Learned: Boarding house analogy..........................................7
What I Can Do: What are you eating?........................................................7

Summary...................................................................................................................................... 8
Assessment: (Post-Test)............................................................................................................ 9
Key to Answers............................................................................................................................ 10
References................................................................................................................................... 13

i
Module 2

What This Module is About

Early efforts by nineteenth-century physicists to comprehend atoms and

molecules met with only limited success. With the unwavering pursuit of scientists to
come up with different experiments and theories, the flurry of research that ensued
altered our concept of nature forever.

This module comprises activities that will help deepen your understanding of
the properties and characteristics of atoms and how they affect the chemistry present
in our daily lives.

The following are the lessons contained in this module:

 Quantum Numbers
 Electron configuration and the Magnetic Property of Atoms

What I Need to Know

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Determine the magnetic property of the atom based on its electronic
configuration (STEM_GC11ESIIa-b-57);
2. Draw an orbital diagram to represent the electronic configuration of atoms
(STEM_GC11ESIIa-b-58)

i
How to Learn from this Module
To achieve the objectives cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises
diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.

Icons of this Module

What I Need to This part contains learning objectives that
Know are set for you to learn as you go along the
module.

What I know This is an assessment as to your level of

knowledge to the subject matter at hand,
meant specifically to gauge prior related
knowledge.
What’s In This part connects previous lesson with that
of the current one.

What’s New An introduction of the new lesson through

various activities, before it will be presented
to you

What is It These are discussions of the activities as a

way to deepen your discovery and under-
standing of the concept.

What’s More These are follow-up activities that are in-

tended for you to practice further in order to
master the competencies.

What I Have Activities designed to process what you

Learned have learned from the lesson

What I can do These are tasks that are designed to show-

case your skills and knowledge gained, and
applied into real-life concerns and situations.

ii
 What I Know

Pretest: MULTIPLE CHOICE:

Directions: Read and understand each item and choose the letter of the correct
answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What do you call the three-dimensional orientation of the orbital in space around
the nucleus?
A. magnetic quantum number C. electron configuration
B. principal quantum number D. geometry

2. Which quantum number indicates the relative size of an orbital?

A. magnetic quantum number C. electron configuration
B. principal quantum number D. geometry

3. [Kr]4s23d6 is the electron configuration of which element?

A. Krypton C. Rhodium
B. Palladium D. Silver

4. Which of the following sets of orbitals is degenerate?

A. 2px and 3py C. 4fx3-3xy2 and 4fzx2-zy2
B. 1s and 2s
2 2
D. 2s1 and 2px

5. Who said that no two electrons can have the same set of four quantum numbers?
A. Heisenberg C. Hund
B. Einstein D. Pauli

6. What do you call the arrangement of electrons within the orbitals of an atom to
know more about an atom’s electronic property?
A. principal quantum number C. electron configuration
B. magnetic quantum number D. geometry

7. What is the other term for the building up principle?

A. Uncertainty Principle C. Roblox Principle
B. Hammer Principle D. Aufbau principle

8. Which element has an electron configuration of 1s 22s22p5?

A. Carbon (atomic number = 6) C. Fluorine (atomic number = 9)
B. Oxygen (atomic number = 8) D. Hydrogen (atomic number = 1)

9. What do you call the pictorial descriptions of the electrons in an atom?

A. orbital diagrams C. gaussian curve
B. energy diagrams D. cliparts

10. What do you call atoms with unpaired electrons?

A. Paramagnetic C. Single atoms
B. Diamagnetic D. Lone pair

iii
 Electron Configuration and the
Magnetic Property of Atoms

What’s In

In Module 1, you have learned that electrons have four quantum numbers (n, l, ml,
and ms) which describe the location of electrons in an orbital. The principal quantum number
(n) describes the energy level and size of the orbital. The greater the n value, the higher the
energy, the larger the orbital, and the more orbitals it can contain. The Angular quantum
number (l) defines the shape of the atomic orbital. It can be an s shape (l=0), p shape (l=1),
d shape (l=2), or f shape (l=3). The magnetic quantum number (ml) describes the orientation
of the orbital in space (2l + 1). The s orbital has only 1 orientation, p orbital has 3 orientations
(px py pz), d orbital has 5 orientations (d xy, dyz, dxz, dx2-y2, dz2), and f orbital has 7 orientations
(fy3-3yx2, f5yz2-yr2, f5xz2-3xr2, fx3-3xy2, fzx2-zy2, fxyz, fdz3-3zr2). The different shapes of orbitals and their
corresponding orientation in space can be visualized in figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Cartesian coordinate visualization of orbitals in space

Source: https://bit.ly/3vcdH1k iv
 It is important to understand that in a strict sense, orbitals do not have a well-defined
shape. The shape representation in figure 1 will just show us the probability density of finding
the electrons in space. The fourth quantum number (ms), as you have learned, indicates the
spin of the electron, which was experimentally determined by Otto Stern and Walther
Gerlach in 1924 (Chang, 2010). The quantum numbers help us determine where the
electron of an atom resides. This is very much simple for a single electron atom like
hydrogen. However, for many-electron atoms, we must know the electron configuration.
Knowing the electron configuration of atoms helps us understand and predict the chemical
properties of the elements. In this lesson, you will learn more about electron configuration,
orbital diagram, and magnetic property of an atom based on its electron configuration.

What’s New

Activity 1: What is the Mystery Word?

Directions: Identify the letter that is described by each item below. Use these letters to
reveal the mystery word in the box.

__ __ __ L P T H __ L E __ N
1 2 3 4 5

1. The symbol of the element in the third period with 5 valence electrons and is used in
the manufacture of safety matches.
2. The symbol of the element in the first period with 2 valence electrons and used to
inflate party balloons.
3. The symbols of the two gaseous elements in the second period with valence
electrons equal to 5 and 6, respectively.
4. The first letter of the name of the principle states that electrons fill atomic orbitals of
the lowest available energy levels first before occupying higher levels in the atom’s
ground state.
5. The symbol of the halogen with a complete electron configuration:1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p5.

Hint: The “word” is often used as an indicator in acid-base titrations. It turns colorless in
acidic solutions and pink in basic solutions.

v
 What Is It

Suppose there is a group of 20 people who want to ride a bus going to the same
destination. To prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus to the passengers, we would like to
arrange the passengers such that there are only 2 people (1 on each side of the aisle) who
can sit in a row and they should be arranged by increasing energy level (suppose, age is
inversely proportional with energy) in the following order: age 50-59 in rows 1 and 2, age 40-
49 in rows 3 and 4, age 30-39 in rows 5 and 6, age 20-29 in rows 7-9, and age 16-19 in row
10. Isn’t this a safe and conventional way of arranging the passengers?

At the atomic level, electrons of an atom are arranged according to increasing energy
level with a maximum of 2 electrons in every orbital. This system of distributing electrons of
an atom among their orbitals is known as electron configuration. The ground-state electron
configuration is the most stable arrangement of electrons in an atom. All the electrons in an
atom reside in the lowest energy orbitals possible in this arrangement. Since each orbital
can accommodate a maximum of two electrons, using the periodic table, we can predict the
electron configuration of all elements.

By convention, the electron configuration of an atom is written in the format below:

Number of electrons in

1s 2
Principal quantum number the orbital
or the energy level

Type of orbital (s,p,d,f)

The way we arranged the people in the bus was regulated by two rules: physical
distancing and age. In the case of electrons, their arrangement is guided by the following
rule and principles:

The Aufbau Principle

The electrons in an atom fill up its atomic orbitals according to the Aufbau Principle;
"Aufbau," in German, means "building up." According to this principle, electrons are filled in
the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…

Figure 2. The order in which atomic subshells are filled in a many-electron atom.

6
 Notice that the orbitals with the lowest energy level are filled up first before the higher
energy levels. The energy level of an orbital is not only determined by the principal quantum
number (n) but also by the angular momentum quantum number (l). For instance, although
2s and 2p orbitals have the same principal quantum number, 2s has lower energy level than
2p. Hence, 2s and 2p orbitals are no longer degenerate (orbitals with the same energy
level). For many-electron atoms, the attraction between an electron and the nucleus is
affected by shielding effect of the lower energy electrons, repulsion among electrons and
distance from the nucleus.

Figure 3 shows the energy level of the orbitals.

Figure 3: Electron energy filling diagram

Image Source: https://bit.ly/3g9QjgY

Hund’s Rule

Hund’s rule states that before additional electrons with opposite spins can occupy the
same orbitals, single electrons with the same spin must occupy each equal-energy orbital
(degenerate) first (Silberberg, 2013). Figure 4 below shows the correct and incorrect way of
filling electrons.

7
 Figure 4: Filling of electrons in degenerate orbitals according to Hund’s rule.
Pauli Exclusion Principle
Source: https://bit.ly/3itIwMe
According to Pauli Exclusion Principle, no two electrons can have the same
combination of four quantum numbers. A maximum of two electrons may occupy a single
orbital, but only if the electrons have opposite spins. The electron configuration can also be
represented by an orbital diagram which shows the spin of the electrons as shown in the
table below.

Table 1 Electron configurations of some lighter elements

The sum of superscripts of the ℓ values in the electron configuration of an element

equals the total number of electrons of the element. This is one way of checking whether the
electron configuration is correct or incorrect. The superscripts represent the total number of
electrons residing in the said orbital.

There is only one (1) s orbital since the value of ℓ is only equal to zero. There are
three 2p orbitals since the values of ml are equal to -1,0 and +1. Orbitals of the same n
values have the same energy and that filling of orbitals should be according to Aufbau’s
principle, Hund’s rule, and Pauli’s exclusion principle. Note that p orbitals have higher energy
compared to s orbitals.

Electron Configuration Shorthand

8
 Writing the electron configuration for smaller atoms is simple. However, as the
number of electron increases, it can become tiresome. Thus, chemists made a shorthand for
writing the electron configuration for larger elements using the Noble Gasses electron
configuration as a reference point. The shorthand is written by writing the electron
configuration of the closest noble gas in a square bracket followed by the remaining electron
configuration. For example, the electron configuration of sulfur with 16 electrons in the
ground state is 1s22s22p63s23p4. The closest noble gas lower than sulfur is neon with the
electron configuration of 1s22s22p6. We just use the electron configuration of neon [Ne], then
write the remaining configuration for sulfur (3s23p4). Hence, the shorthand electron
configuration of sulfur is [Ne] 3s23p4.

Magnetic Property of an Atom

The behaviour of an atom in relation to magnetic fields is influenced by its electron

configuration. This behaviour is also called the magnetic property of an atom and is
dependent on the number of electrons an atom has that are spin paired. An atom with
electrons that will be very slightly affected by magnetic fields is called diamagnetic. The
orbitals of this atom are all filled and therefore all its electrons are paired with an electron of
opposite spin. Neon is an example of a diamagnetic atom. Conversely, atoms that do not
have all their electrons spin-paired and are affected by magnetic fields are called
paramagnetic. Lithium and sodium are examples of paramagnetic atoms (Brown, 2015).

What’s More (A)

Activity 2.1: Electron Configuration and Orbital Diagrams

Directions: Write the complete electron configuration of the following elements and draw
their orbital diagrams. State whether the element is paramagnetic or
diamagnetic. The first one is done for you.

Number
Electron Magnetic
Element of Orbital Diagram
Configuration Property
electrons

Lithium 3 Paramagnetic

Oxygen
Fluorine
Bromine
Silicon
Zinc

What’s More (B)

9
Activity 2.2: Label it!
Directions: Label each part of the following notation of an outermost electron and state what
each part represents.
b
a 3s2

What I Have Learned

Activity 3: Boarding House Analogy

Directions: Imagine you are the landlord of a very strange boarding house. Your job is to fill
the rooms in the building in the most efficient way possible. The rules you have to follow
are as strange as the building because quantum mechanics is not like anything you
might have expected. State what electron rule is being applied in the situations stated on
the left side of the table. Explain each rule. (This activity is adapted from
birdvilleschoosl.net).

Boarding House Rules Electron Rules

From the Bottom Up: Rooms should be filled
from the ground floor and up. Fill up first the
rooms on the first floor before starting to put new
tenants on the second floor.
Singles First: the owner of the building wants to
have the renters spread out as much as possible.
For that reason, singles are placed first in rooms
before couples. If couples must be placed into a
room then all of the other rooms on that floor
must already have a single in them.
Opposite Gender Only: When two people are to
be situated in a room, they must be of opposite
genders. No men may stay together, and no
women may room together. This is an arbitrary
rule on the part of the owners: in a just world, we
wouldn’t have to follow it, but quantum mechanics
has nothing to do with society’s norm.

What I Can Do
Activity 4: What are you eating?

Directions: Research on the ingredients of “PIATTOS”. Identify at least two elements

present in the food and research the properties and uses of each element. Fill out the
table with the needed details and answer the questions that follow. Use the
shorthand electron configuration of each element.

FOOD NAME: PIATTOS- CHEESE FLAVOR

Element Properties Uses Electron Orbital Paramagnetic/

10
 Configuration Diagram Diamagnetic?
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Follow-up Questions:

1. Why is it important to be aware of the ingredients of the food you eat?

2. Based on your research, is your favorite food good for your health? Why?

3. Why is it important to gain knowledge on the properties and characteristics of some

elements?

SUMMARY

 All electrons have four quantum numbers which describe the location of electrons in

the electron cloud of an atom and can be used to determine the electron
configuration of an atom.
 According to the Pauli Exclusion Principle, each electron in an atom has an exclusive
set of quantum numbers and no two electrons can have the same combination of
four quantum numbers.
 The principal quantum number (n) describes the size of the orbital the electron is
residing. The azimuthal or angular quantum number (l) describes the shape of the
orbital. The magnetic quantum number (ml) defines the orientation of the orbital in
space and the electron spin number (ms) defines the direction that the electron spins
on its own axis.
 Electron configuration is the arrangement of electrons within the orbitals of an atom
to know more about an atom’s electronic property.
 The electrons in an atom fill up its atomic orbitals according to the Aufbau Principle;
"Aufbau," in German, means "building up." According to this principle, electrons are
filled in the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p,
7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…
 Hund’s rule states that before additional electrons with opposite spins can occupy the
same orbitals, single electrons with the same spin must occupy each equal-energy
orbital first.
 Atoms with unpaired electrons in their electron configuration and are affected by a
magnetic field are paramagnetic. Atoms with no unpaired electrons in their electron
configuration are diamagnetic.

11
 Assessment: (Post-Test)

Multiple Choice. Read and understand each item and choose the letter of the correct
answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. [Kr]4s23d6 is the electron configuration of which element?

A. Krypton C. Rhodium
B. Palladium D. Silver

2. Which of the following is a valid orbital diagram?

A. C. C.

B. D.

3. Which element has an electron configuration of 1s22s22p5?

A. Carbon (atomic number = 6) C. Fluorine (atomic number = 9)
B. Oxygen ((atomic number = 8) D. Hydrogen (atomic number = 1)

4.  What principal quantum number can an electron in an f sublevel have?

A. 4 C. 1
B. 5 D. 8

5. Which of the following set of orbitals is degenerate?

A. 2px and 3py C. 4fx3-3xy2 and 4fzx2-zy2
B. 1s2 and 2s2 D. 2s1 and 2px

6. Which element has an electronic configuration of 1s22s2p6 3s23p64s23d3?

A. Carbon (atomic number = 6) C. Krypton (atomic number = 36)
B. Vanadium (atomic number = 23) D. Copper (atomic number = 29)

7. Which of the orbitals has the highest energy?

A. 1s C. 2p
B. 2s D. 3s

8. Which of the following atom is paramagnetic?

A. Zinc C. Calcium
B. Krypton D. Potassium

12
9. How many unpaired electrons are there in the ground state of a cobalt atom? What is the
magnetic property of the atom?
A. 3, paramagnetic C. 2, diamagnetic
B. 5, paramagnetic D. 0, diamagnetic

10.  Which of the following electrons described by quantum numbers (n, l, ml, ms) has the
highest energy?
A.  (3,0,0,+1/2)    C. (4,1,0,+1/2)
B.  (3,1,‐1, ‐1/2)   D. (3,2,0,+1/2)

Key to Answers

Pre-test:
1.A 2. B 3.B 4.C 5.D 6.C 7.D 8.C 9.A 10.A

4d
Not allowed
2s
3d
Not allowed
1s
Activity 2.2

No; ℓ = 1
No; ml = 3
Yes

The total number of orbitals is 1 + 3 + 5 = 9.

Five 3d orbitals ( n=3, /=2, and m/= -2,-1, 0, 1, 2).

Three 3p orbitals ( n=3, /= 1, and m/= -1, 0, 1,);
One 3s orbital ( n=3, /= 0, and m/=0);
For n=3, the possible values of / are 0, 1, and 2.
9 T
F
m/ = -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 F
ℓ=2 T
n= 4 T
Activity 2.1 Activity 1:
13

Lesson 1:
Key to Answers

14
 Key to Answers

Lesson 2 - Activity 2.1

Post-test:
1.B 2. D 3.C 4.A 5.C 6.B 7.D 8.D 9.A 10.C

15
References
“Atomic Structure.” SparkNotes. Accessed August 28, 2020.
https://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/fundamentals/atomicstructuresection2/
“Electron Orbital Filling Rules”. Western Oregon University. January 10, 2017.
https://bit.ly/3g9QjgY
“Hunds Rule”. Wikimedia. https://bit.ly/3itIwMe
“Quantum Numbers - Concept.” Brightstorm. Accessed August 28, 2020.
https://www.brightstorm.com/science/chemistry/the-atom/quantumnumbers/.
“Quantum Numbers for Atoms.” Chemistry LibreTexts. August 15, 2020.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Te
xtbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/
Quantum_Mechanics/10:_Multi-electron_Atoms/Quantum_Numbers_for_Atoms.
“The Shapes of Atomic Orbitals”. Chemistry Libre Text. May 24, 2020.
https://bit.ly/3vcdH1k
Brown, Theodore. Chemistry: The Central Science. New York: Pearson,2015.
Canva. Accessed November 5, 2020. https://www.canva.com/education
Chang, R. and Goldsby, K. Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill. Education, 2010.
Silberberg, Martin. Principles of General Chemistry. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher
Education, 2013.

FAIR USE AND CONTENT DISCLAIMER: This SLM (Self Learning Module) is
for educational purposes only. Borrowed materials (i.e. songs, stories, poems,
pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.) included in these modules are
owned by their respective copyright holders. The publisher and authors do not
represent nor claim ownership over them.

For inquiries and feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Bureau of Learning Resources (DepEd-BLR)

DepEd Division of Cagayan de Oro City

Fr. William F. Masterson Ave., Upper Balulang, Cagayan de Oro
Telefax: (08822) 855-0048
E-mail Address: cagayandeoro.city@deped.gov.ph

16