WHAT CAN YOU SEE?

Neils Bohr- stated that outside the nucleus there are

different energy levels where electrons are found.
- electrons move in orbits around the nucleus.

Main energy levels- with designated principal

quantum numbers starting from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5….

Sublevels- with designated letters corresponding to s,

p, d, f

s- sharp with 2 e
p- principal with 6 e
d- diffuse with 10 e
f- fundamental with 14 e
 ELECTRON
CONFIGURATION
-The distribution of electrons to the
various energy levels
Electron Distribution Mnemonics
RULES FOR ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
 In order to write an electron
configuration, we need to know the
RULES.
 3 rules govern electron
configurations.
 Aufbau Principle
 Pauli Exclusion Principle
 Hund’s Rule
 Using the orbital filling diagram at
the right will help you figure out
HOW to write them
 Start with the 1s orbital. Fill each
orbital completely and then go to
the next one, until all of the
elements have been acounted for.
a. AUFBAU (BUILDING-UP) PRINCIPLE

“Electrons in an atom occupy first

the lowest possible energy levels
and/or orbitals.”

Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d
5p 6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
a. AUFBAU (BUILDING-UP) PRINCIPLE

Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
  The next rule is the Pauli Exclusion Principle.
 “No two electrons in the same atom can have the
same set of four quantum numbers, i.e., the
maximum number of electron in an orbital is
limited to two.”
 The spins have to be paired.
 We usually represent this with an up arrow and a
down arrow.
Wolfgang Pauli, yet
another German Nobel  Since there is only 1 s orbital per energy level,
only 2 electrons fill that orbital.
Prize winner
b. PAULI’S EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE

- Each orbital can accommodate only

2 electrons and must have opposite
spins
c. HUND’s Rule

- Electrons must occupy orbitals

singly first before pairing and
parallel spins in degenerate
orbitals to minimize electron
repulsion
- “Empty Bus Seat Rule”
Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Don’t pair up the 2p
electrons until all 3
orbitals are half full.
ARRANGEMENT OF ELECTRONS IN THE ATOMS OF THE FIRST
10 ELEMENTS
Abbreviated or condensed notation- the sequence of
completely filled subshells that correspond to the electronic
configuration of a noble gas is replaced with the symbol of
that noble gas in square brackets.
Order: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p
6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Why are electronic configurations important?

Electron configurations provide insight

into the chemical behaviour of elements by
helping determine the valence electrons of
an atom. It also helps classify elements into
different blocks (such as the s-block
elements, the p-block elements, the d-block
elements, and the f-block elements). This
makes it easier to collectively study the
properties of the elements.
 Words to live by….

“ We should rather be an ELECTRON so

that we may able absorb and release
energy to be a good and useful particle
moving around the earth…”