Name ______________________ Date _______________ Period
Name__________________________________________________Date____________ Period_____
Noble Gas Electron Configuration and Lewis Dot Structures
Write Shorthand/Standard Notation of the Electron Configuration of Neon:____________________________
Write Shorthand/Standard Notation of the Electron Configuration of Sulfur:____________________________
Valence electrons are the electrons on the outermost energy level.
Box the valence electrons in Sulfur’s electron configuration above.
Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation shows the energy levels and sublevels of the valence electrons
and any d or f electrons, stating the number of electrons in each location as a superscript in order of increasing
energy. Core electrons are represented by the symbol of the Noble gas with that configuration.
Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation for Sulfur
[Ne]3s23p4
Example. Atomic Number: __11__ Element: ___Sodium______________ Symbol: ___Na_____
Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
1s22s22p63s1
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓
↑
1s
2s
2p
3s
Noble Gas Notation: [Ne] 3s1
Whole Class Practice. Atomic Number: __26__ Element: ________ ______________ Symbol: _________
Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
1s
2s
2p
Noble Gas Notation:
Name ______________________ Date _______________ Period
Fan and Pick Practice.
Directions: Student 1 fans the cards to student 2 who picks one and tells everyone the answer to part A.
Everyone writes part A.
Student 2 writes and verbalizes part B, orbital notation. Everyone writes part B.
Student 3 writes and verbalizes part C, shorthand/standard notation. Everyone writes part C.
Student 4 writes and verbalizes part D, noble gas notation. Everyone writes part D.
Rotate jobs and repeat for each of the practice problems below.
1. A) Atomic Number: ______ Element: _______________________
B) Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Symbol: _________
C) Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
D) Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation:
2. A) Atomic Number: ______ Element: _______________________ Symbol: _________
B) Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
C) Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
D) Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation:
Name ______________________ Date _______________ Period
3. A) Atomic Number: ______ Element: _______________________
B) Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Symbol: _________
C) Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
D) Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation:
4. A) Atomic Number: ______ Element: _______________________
B) Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Symbol: _________
C) Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
D) Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation:
5. A) Atomic Number: ______ Element: _______________________
B) Orbital Diagram of Electron Configuration:
Symbol: _________
C) Standard Electron Configuration Notation:
D) Noble Gas Electron Configuration Notation:
Name ______________________ Date _______________ Period
Lewis Dot Structures
Lewis Dot Structure Electron Notation shows only the valence electrons in an atom.
Lewis Dot Structure Electron Notation for Sulfur
Correct:
Incorrect:
Finding the Valence electrons
 Write the Noble Gas Electron Configuration for the element.
 Identify the electrons on the highest (outermost) energy level.
 Example: In Iron, [Ar]4s23d6, the highest energy level is 4, so there are 2 valence electrons, the ones in 4s2.
Writing Lewis Dots
 First write the chemical symbol.
 Second, determine the number of valence electrons.
 Draw the valence electrons as dots around the symbol, making sure to put one dot on each side before
putting a second dot on any side.
Fun Valence Electron Facts:
 Valence electrons are the electrons in the highest occupied energy level of an atom.
 The maximum number of valence electrons is ________; the s and p electrons from the highest energy level.
 It is the number of valence electrons that will determine the chemical properties of the element.
 Valence electrons are the only electrons used in chemical bonds.
Lewis Dot Structures Part 1: Write out the noble gas configuration for the following elements. Box the valence
electrons, then write the total in the small blank on the right.
Li ________________________________
______
P _______________________________
______
Na _______________________________
______
O _______________________________
______
F _______________________________
______
K _________________________________
______
Rb _______________________________
______
Cl ________________________________
______
Mg ______________________________
______
Br _______________________________
______
Al _______________________________
______
I ________________________________
______
Si _______________________________
______
Kr _______________________________
______
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Name ______________________ Date _______________ Period
Lewis Dot Structures

Lewis Dot Structures, also called dot diagrams, show the element symbol surrounded by the valence electrons.
Much like Hund’s rule, when you are placing the electron “dots” around the symbol, put 1 on each side of the
element before putting 2 on any side.

For example, the fictional element, Elementium (El) has 3 valence electrons.
●●
●
El
El ●
●
●
Lewis Dot Structures Part 2: For each element you completed in Lewis Dot Structures Part 1, draw the Lewis
Dot Structures (dot diagrams) in the periodic table below.
1
18
H
He
1
2
13
14
15
16
17
Li
Be
B
C
N
O
F
Ne
Na
Mg
Al
Si
P
S
Cl
Ar
K
Ca
Ge
Ga
As
Se
Br
Kr
In
Sn
Sb
Te
I
Xe
Tl
Pb
Bi
Po
At
Rn
2
3
4
5
Rb
Sr
Cs
Ba
Fr
Ra
Transition
Elements
6
7
Based on patterns you see, write a dot diagram for every other element EXCEPT helium.
Write the Electron Configuration Orbital Diagram for Helium.
How many valence electrons does Helium have?_______
These electrons are drawn as a pair rather than separately. Why could this be?
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