Electron Configuration

Blog Post #3

February 28, 2016

Our second lecture in this unit consisted of electron configurations. 

In writing an electron configuration, there are four levels of organization to describe the location of an electron in any particular atom. 

1.) Principal Energy Level: Describes in very general terms how far away from the nucleus an electron can be found.Represented with n.

2.) Sublevel: There are four different sublevels- s, p, d, f.

Those letters represent the different energy levels, with S being the lowest to F being the highest energy level. 

3.) Orbitals: S=1  P=3  D=5 F=7

4.) Spin: Each orbital can hold two electrons, each with opposite spins. One up and one down. 

However, there are also rules for placing electrons as well.

1.) Aufbau Principle: Electrons enter orbitals of lowest energy first. 

2.) Pauli Exclusion Principle: An orbital can only contain two electrons w/opposite spin. 

3.) Hund's Rule: Within a sublevel, electrons enter singly before pairing up. 

Examples of Electron Configurations for several Elements.
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/3311/3390683/imag0608/TB06_003.GIF


Helpful Links:
Electron Configuration-Bozeman Science
The Electron Configuration of Atoms
Khan Academy-Electron Configuration