# 6.4 Electronic structure of atoms (electron configurations)  (Page 4/15)

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The alkali metal sodium (atomic number 11) has one more electron than the neon atom. This electron must go into the lowest-energy subshell available, the 3 s orbital, giving a 1 s 2 2 s 2 2 p 6 3 s 1 configuration. The electrons occupying the outermost shell orbital(s) (highest value of n ) are called valence electrons    , and those occupying the inner shell orbitals are called core electrons ( [link] ). Since the core electron shells correspond to noble gas electron configurations, we can abbreviate electron configurations by writing the noble gas that matches the core electron configuration, along with the valence electrons in a condensed format. For our sodium example, the symbol [Ne] represents core electrons, (1 s 2 2 s 2 2 p 6 ) and our abbreviated or condensed configuration is [Ne]3 s 1 .

Similarly, the abbreviated configuration of lithium can be represented as [He]2 s 1 , where [He] represents the configuration of the helium atom, which is identical to that of the filled inner shell of lithium. Writing the configurations in this way emphasizes the similarity of the configurations of lithium and sodium. Both atoms, which are in the alkali metal family, have only one electron in a valence s subshell outside a filled set of inner shells.

$\begin{array}{}\\ \text{Li:}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\left[\text{He}\right]2{s}^{1}\\ \text{Na:}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\left[\text{Ne}\right]3{s}^{1}\end{array}$

The alkaline earth metal magnesium (atomic number 12), with its 12 electrons in a [Ne]3 s 2 configuration, is analogous to its family member beryllium, [He]2 s 2 . Both atoms have a filled s subshell outside their filled inner shells. Aluminum (atomic number 13), with 13 electrons and the electron configuration [Ne]3 s 2 3 p 1 , is analogous to its family member boron, [He]2 s 2 2 p 1 .

The electron configurations of silicon (14 electrons), phosphorus (15 electrons), sulfur (16 electrons), chlorine (17 electrons), and argon (18 electrons) are analogous in the electron configurations of their outer shells to their corresponding family members carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and neon, respectively, except that the principal quantum number of the outer shell of the heavier elements has increased by one to n = 3. [link] shows the lowest energy, or ground-state, electron configuration for these elements as well as that for atoms of each of the known elements.

When we come to the next element in the periodic table, the alkali metal potassium (atomic number 19), we might expect that we would begin to add electrons to the 3 d subshell. However, all available chemical and physical evidence indicates that potassium is like lithium and sodium, and that the next electron is not added to the 3 d level but is, instead, added to the 4 s level ( [link] ). As discussed previously, the 3 d orbital with no radial nodes is higher in energy because it is less penetrating and more shielded from the nucleus than the 4 s , which has three radial nodes. Thus, potassium has an electron configuration of [Ar]4 s 1 . Hence, potassium corresponds to Li and Na in its valence shell configuration. The next electron is added to complete the 4 s subshell and calcium has an electron configuration of [Ar]4 s 2 . This gives calcium an outer-shell electron configuration corresponding to that of beryllium and magnesium.

The reaction of aceto nitrile with propane in the presence of the acid
Explain this paragraph in short
What is solid state?
What is chemical reaction
Manish
transforming reactants to product(s)
Andre
process
Andre
Example of Lewis acid
Example of Lewis acid
Chidera
Chlorine
Anything with an empty orbital... the hydrogen ion is the most common example. BH3 is the typical example, but any metal in a coordination complex can be considered a Lewis acid.
Eszter
okay thanks
Jovial
aluminium and sulphur react to give aluminium sulfide.How many grams of Al are required to produce 100g of aluminium sulphide
aluminium and sulphur react to give aluminium sulphide how many grams of Al are required to produce 100g of aluminium sulphide?
Soni
aluminium and sulphur react to give aluminium sulphide how many grams of Al are required to produce 100g of aluminium sulphide?
Soni
2Al+3S=Al2S3
galina
m(Al)=100×27×2/150=36g
galina
150 comes from?
Soni
thank you very much
Soni
molar mass of Al2S3
galina
150.158
thiru
Why can't atom be created or destroyed
matter simply converts to pure energy
explain how to distinguish ethanol from a sample of ethanoic acid by chemical test
explain how ethanol can be distinguished from ethanoic acid by chemical test
Alice
Using a suitable experiment, describe how diffusion occurs in gases.
what is electrolytes?
substance which splits into ions during melting or dissolving
galina
on passing electric current though electrode
Kv
State that use law of partial pressure in a gas jar containing a gas and water what is the total pressure composed of 272cm^3 of carbon (iv) oxide were collected over water at15°c and 782mmHg pressure. calculate the volume of the dry gas at stp(SVP of water at 15°c is 12mmHg)
was Dalton's second postulate"atoms of the same kind have have similar/same mass and size" Or " the one mentioned in B here?
what was name of the Greek philosophers
which of HF and HI is more acidic
HF is
HF
Duku
HI is stronger than HF (greater size of I courses greater length of bond)
galina
HI is a stronger acid due to less efficient orbital overlap. HF will react with with glass and extract calcium from bones, but those hazards are not because it's a stronger acid, but because it contains fluorine.
Eszter
hi
Victoria
hello
Jovial
hello
Asha
hi
Andre
hi
MO
hello
nanmya
hi
they are noble gases