ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
2 Methods to use:
1. electron configurations (using Periodic Table Blocks)
2. orbital notations (arrows)
1. ELECTRON CONFIGURATION: Electrons find homes in orbitals and fill orbitals from
lowest energy level FIRST
REMEMBER!
- s holds 2 – color the s block orange
- d holds 10 – color the d block green
-
p holds 6 – color the p block purple
f holds 14 – color the f block blue
EX. Let’s write the electron configuration for Magnesium.
EX. What is the electron configuration of Silicon?
EX. What is the electron configuration of Lithium?
EX. What is the electron configuration of Sulfur?
TRICKS! 1. Valence electrons and the periodic table (by group #)
2. Divided by blocks vs. Diagonal Rule
3. [Noble Gas] notation
2. ORBITAL NOTATION We can also use diagrams with arrows to show electrons and their
spin in a diagram called orbital notation. Each block represents an orbital.
Remember!
- s has 1 orbital
- p has 3 orbitals
- d has 5 orbitals
- f had 7 orbitals
or
or
or
or
1 parking spot
3 parking spots
5 parking spots
7 parking spots
EXAMPLES OF ORBITAL NOTATION
1 atom of Li
# of P =
# of e- =
1s
2s
1s
2s
2p
1s
2s
2p
1 atom of F
# of P =
# of e- =
1 atom of S
# of P =
# of e- =
http://www.chemfiles.com/flash/e_configs1.swf
3s
3p
Electron Configurations and Orbital Notation
NAME______________#_____
Write the electron configurations for the following elements.
1. N
2. Cl
3. Ne
4. V
5. Mg
Find the elements with the following configurations.
6. 1s22s2
7. 1s22s22p2
8. 1s22s22p63s2
Show the orbital notation (including orbital and spin of electron) for the following:
HINT: You may replace drawing a box by drawing an underline as I’ve demonstrated with the
first example.
9. H
___
1s
___
2s
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
2p
3s 3p
10. Mg
11. C
12. O
Write out the electron configurations AND show the orbital notation for the following.
13. He
14. Be
15. F