#1. Name 2 elements in which the last electron(s) to be
added are placed into s subshells.
You could have named
any elements in group
1A or group 2A
#2. How many electrons can be placed into the 2s
subshell?
2
#3. Name 2 elements for which the last electron(s) to be
added are placed into p subshells.
You could have named
any elements in group
3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A or
8A
#4. List all the elements with 6 electrons in the outermost
p subshell.
8A: Neon, Argon,
Krypton, Xenon, Radon
#5. Name 2 elements for which the last electron(s) to be
added are placed into the 3d subshell.
Period 4, Groups 3-12
#6. How many electrons can be placed into the 3d
subshell?
10
#7. Shade in the s-block, p-block, d-block and f-block with
different colors of pen or pencil on the periodic table on
the previous page.
#8. A total of eighteen electrons can be placed in the 3rd
shell. Explain why.
3s  2
3p  6 e
3d  10 e
e
________
18
e
#9. How many subshells are in the 4th shell?
4: 4s, 4p, 4d, 4f
#10. An electron configuration is a list of all the
subshells that have electrons for a given element.
Determine which element is associated with each
electron configuration in the following table.
Electron Configuration
Element
1s22s1
Lithium, Li
1s22s22p3
•Nitrogen, N
1s22s22p63s23p5
•Chlorine, Cl
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d6
•Iron, Fe
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d104p2
•Germanium, Ge
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d104p65s24d105p4
•Tellurium, Te
#11. Refer to the following electron configuration and
answer the questions below:
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d5
a) How many total electrons does this element have?
25
b) What element is this?
Manganese (Mn)
c) How many shells are represented?
4
d) How many subshells are represented?
7
#13. Consider the noble gas shorthand notation in the
table below:
Element
Valence electrons
Lithium, Li
Electron
Configuration
[He] 2s1
Potassium, K
[Ar] 4s1
4s1
Scandium, Sc
[Ar] 4s23d1
4s2
Zinc, Zn
[Ar] 4s23d10
4s2
2s1
a) What do you think [He] and [Ar] stand for?
The electron configuration
up to that point.
b) Use this shorthand notation to write the electron
configurations for the elements in Group IIA, the alkaline
earth metals).
•Beryllium: [He]
2
•Magnesium: [Ne] 3s
2
•Calcium: [Ar] 4s
2
•Strontium: [Kr] 5s
2
•Barium: [Xe] 6s
2
2s
c) Explain why the elements in Group IIA have similar
properties.
They all have 2 electrons in
their outer shell.
d) Use this shorthand notation to write electron
configurations on your handout for the elements in the
third row from sodium to silicon.
1
3s
Na: [Ne]
2
Mg: [Ne] 3s
2
1
Al: [Ne] 3s 3p
2
2
Si: [Ne] 3s 3p
e) Explain why the properties of the elements change as
you move across the row.
They have different #s of
valence electron.