ELECTRON

CONFIGURATION
Gen. Chemistry 1
Electron configuration
• is the arrangement of electrons within the orbitals of an
atom to know more about an atom’s electronic property.
• The ground-state electron configuration is the most
stable arrangement of electrons of 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.
Valence electrons
• are the outermost electrons of an atom.
• They are the highest energy electrons in an atom and are the
most reactive.
• They can be gained, lost, or shared to form chemical bonds
unlike the inner electrons which do not participate in reactions.
• The number of valence electrons of each element is equal to its
group number on the Periodic Table.
• Elements with the same number of valence electrons tend to
have similar chemical properties.
Electron Configurations are useful for:

• Determining the valency of an element.

• Predicting the properties of a group of
elements (elements with similar electron
configurations tend to exhibit similar
properties).
• Interpreting atomic spectra.
Writing Electron Configuration
Shells
• The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in a
shell is based on the principal quantum number (n).

•
it is represented by the formula 2n 2,
where n is the shell number.
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…
S – sharp – 2 electrons 2 fill
P – principal – 6 electrons to fill
D – diffuse - 10 electrons to fill
F – fundamental – 14 electrons to fill
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.
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.
• This is like the seats on a bus – on a bus, you sit alone, rather than with a stranger,
if you have the option.
• This rule describes the order in which electrons are filled in all the orbitals
belonging to a subshell.
• It states that every orbital in a given subshell is singly occupied by electrons before
a second electron is filled in an orbital.
• In order to maximize the total spin, the electrons in the orbitals that only contain
one electron all have the same spin (or the same values of the spin quantum
number).