Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________

Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms

SECTION 1
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.
1. In what way does the photoelectric effect support the particle theory of light?
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2. What is the difference between the ground state and the excited state of an
atom?
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3. Under what circumstances can an atom emit a photon?
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4. How can the energy levels of the atom be determined by measuring the light
emitted from an atom?
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5. Why does electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet region represent a larger
energy transition than does radiation in the infrared region?
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Modern Chemistry 2 Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms
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SECTION 1 continued
6. Which of the waves shown below has the higher frequency? (The scale is the
same for each drawing.) Explain your answer.

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7. How many different photons of radiation were emitted from excited helium
atoms to form the spectrum shown below? Explain your answer.

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PROBLEMS Write the answer on the line to the left. Show all your work in the
space provided.
8. ____________________ What is the frequency of light that has a wavelength
of 310 nm?

9. ____________________ What is the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation

if its frequency is 3.2  102 Hz?

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Modern Chemistry 3 Arrangement of Electrons In Atoms
Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________

Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms

SECTION 2
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. _____ How many quantum numbers are used to describe the properties of
electrons in atomic orbitals?
(a) 1 (c) 3
(b) 2 (d) 4
2. _____ A spherical electron cloud surrounding an atomic nucleus would best
represent
(a) an s orbital. (c) a combination of two different p orbitals.
(b) a p orbital. (d) a combination of an s and a p orbital.
3. _____ How many electrons can an energy level of n = 4 hold?
(a) 32 (c) 8
(b) 24 (d) 6
4. _____ How many electrons can an energy level of n = 2 hold?
(a) 32 (c) 8
(b) 24 (d) 6
5. _____ Compared with an electron for which n = 2, an electron for which n = 4
has more
(a) spin. (c) energy.
(b) particle nature. (d) wave nature.
6. _____ According to Bohr, which is the point in the figure below where
electrons cannot reside?
(a) point A (c) point C
(b) point B (d) point D

7. _____ According to the quantum theory, point D in the above figure represents
(a) the fixed position of an electron.
(b) the farthest position from the nucleus that an electron can achieve.
(c) a position where an electron probably exists.
(d) a position where an electron cannot exist.

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Modern Chemistry 4 Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms
Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________

SECTION 2 continued
8. How did de Broglie conclude that electrons have a wave nature?
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9. Identify each of the four quantum numbers and the properties to which they
refer.
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10. How did the Heisenberg uncertainty principle contribute to the idea that
electrons occupy “clouds,” or “orbitals”?
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11. Complete the following table:
Principal quantum
number, n Number of sublevels Types of orbitals
1 1 s
2 2 s, p
3 3 s,p,d
4 4 s,p,d,f

Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms

SECTION 3
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.
1. State the Pauli exclusion principle, and use it to explain why electrons in the
same orbital must have opposite spin states.
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Modern Chemistry 5 Arrangement of Electrons In Atoms
Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________
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2. Explain the conditions under which the following orbital notation for helium is
possible:
↑ ↑
1s 2s
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Write the ground-state electron configuration and orbital notation for each of the
following atoms:
3. Phosphorus

4. Nitrogen

5. Potassium

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Modern Chemistry 6 Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms
Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________

SECTION 3 continued
6. Aluminum

7. Argon

8. Boron

9. Which guideline, Hund’s rule or the Pauli exclusion principle, is violated in

the following orbital diagrams?

a. ___________________________________

b. ____________________

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Modern Chemistry 7 Arrangement of Electrons In Atoms
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Multiple Choice Review

1.Which of the following relationships is true?

A.Higher-energy light has a higher frequency than lower-energy light does.
B.Higher-energy light has a longer wavelength than lower-energy light does.
C. Higher-energy light travels at a faster speed than lower-energy light does.
D.Higher-frequency light travels at a slower speed than lower-energy light does.

2. The energy of a photon is greatest for

A.visible light.
B.ultraviolet light.
C.infrared light.
D.X-ray radiation.

3.What is the wavelength of radio waves that have a frequency of 88.5 MHz?
A.3.4 m
B.8.9 nm
C.0.30 m
D.300 nm

4.Which transition in an excited hydrogen atom will emit the longest wavelength
of light?

A.E5 to E1
B.E4 to E1
C.E3 to E1
D.E2 to E1

5.Which of the following quantum numbers is often designated by the letters s, p,

d, and f instead of by numbers?
A.n
B.l
C.m
D.s

6. Which quantum number is related to the shape of an orbital?

A.n
B.l
C.m
D.s

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Modern Chemistry 8 Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms
Name:______________________________Class: ___________________Date: ____________________

7.What is the maximum number of unpaired electrons that can be placed in a 3p

sublevel?
A.1
B.2
C.3
D.4

8.What is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy a 3s orbital?

A.1
B.2
C.6
D.10

9.Which element has the noble-gas notation [Kr]5s24d2?

A.Se
B.Sr
C.Zr
D.Mo

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Modern Chemistry 9 Arrangement of Electrons In Atoms