Background Information:

The arrangement of electrons within the orbitals of an atom is known as the electron configuration. The most stable
arrangement is called the ground-state electron configuration. This is the configuration where all of the electrons in an
atom reside in the lowest energy orbitals possible. Keeping in mind that each orbital can accommodate a maximum of
two electrons, we are able to predict the electron configurations of elements using the periodic table.

Parts of an electron configuration:

• Energy level - a number (1, 2, 3 and so on)

• Sublevel (orbital) - a letter, either s, p, d, or f
• Number of electrons - a superscript number

Analogy: The energy level is like a driveway with cars in it, the sublevels are the type of cars in parking lot, and the
orbitals are how many seats are in the car.

What do the s, p, d and f orbitals look like?

The electron orbitals shown below represent a volume of space within
which an electron would have a certain probability of being based on
particular energy states and atoms. For example, in a simple lowest -
energy state hydrogen atom, the electrons are most likely to be found
within a sphere around the nucleus of an atom. In a higher energy state,
the shapes become lobes and rings, due to the interaction of the quantum
effects between the different atomic particles.

How to write an electron configuration:

In a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons of the atom. When the electrons fill the
orbitals, they occupy the lowest energy orbitals that are available.
For example, hydrogen is atomic number 1 (has 1 proton). The one electron that it has occupies the lowest orbital, which
is 1s. To write its electron configuration, it would be 1s 1. In an orbital diagram, it would simply be a line with one
up arrow in it, which represents the 1s orbital:
H:
_ 1s

Likewise, helium has 2 protons and its electron configuration would be 1s2. Its orbital diagram would be a line with
one up arrow and one down arrow.
He:

Lithium has 3 protons and an electron configuration of 1s 22s1, so the orbital diagram will be:
Li:

1s 2s

Now things get trickier with higher orbitals. For example, Boron has an electron configuration of 1s 22s22p1 and the
orbital diagram looks like this:
B:
1s 2s 2p

Now one might think that carbon, with an electron configuration of 1s22s22p2 would have an orbital diagram of this:
C:
1s 2s 2p

But that is incorrect. It actually has one of this:

C:

1s 2s 2p

The rule for doing this is that when electrons are placed in a set of orbitals of equal energy, they are spread out to
give as few paired electrons as possible. For carbon, that means that the two p electrons are in separate orbitals.
Basically, the above information can be summed up into 3 rules that define how electrons can be arranged in an
atom`s orbital.
 1. The Aufbau Principle

• Each electron occupies the lowest energy orbital

o i.e. Electrons are Lazy!
• All orbitals related to an energy level are of equal energy.
o i.e. The three 2p orbitals are the same energy level.

2. Hund’s Rule

• Single electrons with the same spin must occupy each equal-energy orbital before additional electrons
with opposite spins can occupy the same orbitals.
o i.e. Electrons are unfriendly!

Why? Electrons, being unfriendly, fill up the empty orbitals before sharing orbitals. This is similar to seats on a bus
– on a bus, you sit alone, rather than with a stranger, if there is an option.

3. Pauli Exclusion Principle

• A maximum of two electrons may occupy a single orbital, but only if the electrons have opposite
spins.
o Spin -- Electrons have an associated “spin,” either one way or the other, like a top.
o These spins are called “spin up” and “spin down.”

Exceptions to filling order are copper, chromium and some others- because half-filled shells are more stable, so an
atom may borrow an electron from next s shell to half fill a lower energy level.

Apartment Analogy

Imagine you are the landlord of a very strange apartment building. Your job is to fill the apartments in the building in the most
efficient way possible. You are required by the owner of the building to fill the rooms in a certain way. The rules you have to
follow are as strange as the building because quantum mechanics is not like anything you might have expected. The rules are
summarized in the table below.

In the building the different floors are like the different energy levels (or shells) in an atom. The energy levels are numbe red
starting from one, just like the floors in an apartment. Each room corresponds to one orbital. The rooms have a capacity of two
electrons (two people) each. In each room only a man and a woman may be paired together. In the strange world of
quantum mechanics there are no same-gender room mates.
 Apartment Rules Electron Rules
From the Bottom Up: Rooms must be filled from the Aufbau Principle: the electrons fill the available orbitals
ground floor up. Fill the one room on the first floor before from lowest energy to highest energy. In the ground state
starting to put new tenants on the second floor. Then fill the all the electrons are in the lowest possible energy level.
s room before the p rooms. At higher floors the order might
change a bit.
Singles First: the owner of the building wants to have the Hund’s Rule: The electrons must be placed into the
tenants spread out as much as possible. For that reason orbitals in such a way that no pairs are put together
singles are placed in rooms before couples. If couples unless absolutely necessary. That is, single electrons
must be placed into a room then all of the other rooms on must be placed into boxes first and then paired up if
that floor must already have a single in them. necessary.
Opposite Gender Only: When two people are placed in a Pauli Exclusion Principle: Electrons come in two
room they must be of opposite genders. No men may varieties based on the direction they are ‘spinning’. There
room together and no women may room together. This is is an Up spin and a Down spin. Up and Down spins are
an arbitrary rule on the part of the owners: in a just world always paired together and Up-Up or Down-Down
we wouldn’t have to follow it. But quantum mechanics has combinations are not allowed. No two electrons can ever
nothing to do with justice. be in the same place at the same time.
Graphically, the orbital diagram for electron filling can be depicted as follows, showing increasing energy from the 1s
orbital down to the 7p orbital.

The rule is to start at the beginning of each arrow, and then follow it all of the way to the end, filling in the sublevels that
it passes through. In other words, the order for filling in the sublevels becomes; 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d,
5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d,7p.
Noble Gas Notation:

When writing electron configurations, you may be required to write the simplified “noble gas notation” for a particular
element. To do this, find the element on the periodic table, locate the previous noble gas and then add the rest of the
electron configuration beyond the noble gas.

For example:

Calcium has an electron configuration of 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2.

The noble gas prior to calcium is argon, so:

Its noble gas notation would be: [Ar], 4s2.

The periodic table is organized into Periods (rows), Groups 1-18 (columns) and Blocks (s, p, d and f). The periods
and rows will likely be familiar to students but s, p, d and f blocks may be new.

The periodic table below shows the s, p, d and f view:

How does all of this relate to the formation of ions?

Why do ions form? Atoms (except the noble gases) can lower their energy, thus becoming more stable, by gaining
or losing electrons in order to have full s and p subshells. The goal for all atoms is to have a full s and p subshell
(NOT a full shell - the d and f don't need to be full to be stable). Noble gases don't have full d or f subshells. It is all
about getting to an s2p6 configuration! This configuration will lower energy and provide stability. We often say the
motivation or goal for the atoms is to "be like a noble gas.
Take a look at sodium:

• Na - 1s22s22p63s1 not stable

• Ne - 1s22s22p6 stable
• So sodium's goal is to lose that one outer electron to be like Ne.
• Na+ - 1s22s22p6 stable

Take a look at chlorine:

• Cl - 1s22s22p63s23p5 not stable
• Ar - 1s22s22p63s13p6 stable
• So chlorine's goal is to gain one electron so it can be like Ar.
• Cl - -1s22s22p63s23p6 stable

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Let’s move on to the next higher level of activity/ies or exercise/s that
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