Electron Configuration

I. ENERGIES OF THE ORBITALS

After understanding the shapes and sizes of
atomic orbitals, it is imperative to understand the
relative energies of the orbitals and how it affects
the actual arrangement of electrons in atoms.
1. Orbital energy levels in a hydrogen atom
The energy of an electron in a hydrogen atom
depends solely on its principal quantum number,
n. The energy of the electron in the hydrogen atom
is given by:

where RH is equal to 2.18 x 10-18J. Therefore,

the energies of the hydrogen atom increase
according to the following (see Figure 1): Orbital energy levels for many-electron atoms
1s<2s=2p<3s=3p=3d<4s=4p=4d=4f<… III. ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
Orbitals with the same principal quantum number, n, The four quantum numbers n, ℓ, ml, and ms are very
have the same energy. It means that in a hydrogen useful in labelling an electron in any orbital in an atom
atom, the lowest energy is 1s. It is the most stable much like giving the address of an electron in an atom.
condition, or termed as the ground state. An electron in In the case of hydrogen, there is only one electron. In
the ground state is most strongly held by the nucleus. the ground state, the one electron of hydrogen will
occupy the 1s orbital, the one with the lowest energy.
This electron is represented by the set of quantum
numbers: n = 1, ℓ =0, ml = 0, and ms = ½ or -½. By
convention, the set of quantum numbers is written as
(1, 0, 0, ½) or (1, 0, 0, -½). The ms value does not
affect the energy, orientation, or size of the orbital but
is important in describing the arrangement of
electrons in the atom.
It is possible to represent this arrangement of the
electron in hydrogen in terms of the electron
Orbital energy levels in a hydrogen atom
configuration or in terms of the orbital diagram. The
The 2s, and the three 2p-orbitals have the same energy.
electron configuration shows how the electrons of an
We refer to orbitals with the same energy
atom are distributed among the atomic orbitals. The
as degenerate. When an external energy hits a
orbital diagram shows the spin of the electron. For the
hydrogen atom, the electron in the 1s orbital, can jump
electron in the ground state of hydrogen, the electron
to the 2s, 2p or higher orbitals and this electron is said
configuration is given as
to be in the excited state.
Similarly, the 3s, the three 3p-orbitals and the five 3d-
orbitals are degenerate and have higher energy than the
orbitals in the 2nd energy level.
2. Orbital energy levels for many-electron atoms
For atoms containing more than one electron (many-
electron atoms), the energy depends on other factors. In an orbital diagram, a 1s orbital can be represented as
These include the potential energy of repulsion among a box with 1 arrow up (up-spin) or arrow down (down-
the electrons, the attraction between the nucleus and spin)
the other electrons, and the kinetic energies of the
many electrons. Thus the orbital energies of many-
electron atoms depend not only on n but also on ℓ.
Note that the 3s, 3p, and 3d orbitals are no longer In filling up the orbitals, the lower energy levels are
degenerate to each other. The 3d orbital energies are filled up first before the higher energy levels.
even lower than those of the 4s orbitals. For many-electron atoms, the Pauli Exclusion
Principle is used. This states that in an atom or
molecule, no two electrons can have the same four
electronic quantum numbers. Consequently, an orbital
can contain a maximum of only two electrons, the two
electrons must have opposing spins. This means if one
is assigned an up-spin (+1/2), the other must be down- attain the greatest stability. In the first option, the
spin (-1/2). presence of two electrons with opposing
Consider the case of He with 2 electrons. spins in one orbital results in a greater mutual
repulsion than when they occupy separate
orbitals. Hund’s Rule is followed in d and f orbitals as
well.
Pauli’s Exclusion Principle can be tested by simple
observation. Measurements of magnetic properties
provide the most direct evidence for specific electronic
configurations of elements.
Exercises: Copy and answer on a sheet of paper. Paramagnetic materials are those that contain unpaired
1. What are the possible sets of quantum numbers that electrons or spins and are attracted by a
can describe a 2p electron in an atom? magnet. Diamagnetic materials are those with paired
Answer: For a 2p electron, n = 2; = 1; ml can be -1, 0, spins and are repelled by a magnet.
+1; and ms can be ½ or -½. Any atom with an odd number of electrons will
(2, 1, -1, ½) contain one or more unpaired spins, and are therefore
(2, 1, -1, -½) attracted by a magnet, thus, can be classified as
(2, 1, 0, ½) paramagnetic. For an even number
(2, 1, 0, -½) of electrons like helium, if the two electrons in the 1s
(2, 1, 1, ½) orbitals had parallel spins, their net magnetic fields
(2, 1, 1, -½) should strengthen each other. But experimental results
2. Give the electron configuration of Li. Give the set of showed that the helium atom in its ground state has no
quantum numbers that describe the outermost electron net magnetic field. This observation supports the
in lithium as shown in the orbital diagram below. pairing of two electrons with opposite spins in the 1s
orbital. Thus, helium gas is diamagnetic. Lithium, on
the other hand, has an unpaired electron and is
paramagnetic. The orbital diagram provides
3. Give the electron configuration of Be. Draw the information on the diamagnetic or paramagnetic
orbital diagram. characteristic of an element.
4. Give the electron configuration of B. Draw the
orbital diagram. Exercises:
Fill in the following table:
III. HUND’S RULE
For carbon, the electronic configuration is 1s 2 2s2 2p2.
But the orbital diagram shows three ways
in which the last electron can be placed in the orbitals
which do not violate the Pauli’s exclusion
principle as shown in the following:

However, each arrangement provides a different

energy value. The one with the lowest energy
IV. AUFBAU PRINCIPLE
has the greatest stability. Hund’s rule is the guide in
The Aufbau principle dictates that as protons are added
determining the most stable distribution.
one by one to the nucleus to
Hund’s rule: The most stable arrangement of
build up the elements, electrons are similarly added to
electrons in the subshells is the one with the
the atomic orbitals. The order of
most number of parallel spins.
filling up the atomic orbitals is from lowest energy to
Based on Hund’s rule, the third option is the most
highest energy. Within the same
favorable arrangement for the electron to
principal quantum number, the order of energies of the electron distribution of this series as seen in Cr
atomic orbitals is s<p<d<f and Cu.
For example, for n = 3, the order is E3s < E3p < E 3d. 2
21Sc: [Ar]4s 3d
1

For multi-electron atoms, the general order of filling 2 2

22Ti: [Ar]4s 3d
up orbitals can be diagrammed as follows: 1 5
24Cr: [Ar]4s 3d
1 10
29Cu: [Ar]4s 3d
2 10
30Zn: [Ar] 4s 3d
The irregularities in Cr and Cu are due to
experimental results that show that there is a
greater stability associated with the half-filled
(3d5) and the completely filled (3d10)
subshells. Similar observations are also found in
The electron configuration of elements higher than the higher d and f-orbitals.
hydrogen and helium can be represented using the Gallium is the next element after Zn, its electronic
noble gas core. In the periodic table, the noble gases configuration is:
2 10 1
are found in the last column named as Group 8A (or 31Ga: [Ar] 4s 3d 4p
Group 18 in the IUPAC convention). These Important data that can be gathered from the
are 2He, 10Ne, 18Ar, 36Kr, 54Xe, 86Rn. shortened electronic configuration are
the following:
The smallest noble element is helium, so the shortened a. Valence configuration: The electronic
electronic configuration can be configuration representing the outermost
written as follows for the given elements: subshells.
b. Valence electrons: the number of electrons in
the outermost subshells.

V. THE QUANTUM NUMBERS AND THE

ARRANGEMENTS OF ELEMENTS IN
THE PERIODIC TABLE
It was mentioned earlier that the complete set of
quantum numbers specifies the address of an
The elements in the 4th period, starting from electron in an atom. This can be seen in the
potassium will have argon as the noble arrangement of elements in the periodic table. The
gas core periodic table is designed such that elements with
1
19K: [Ar]4s
2 valence configurations in the s orbitals are found
20Ca: [Ar] 4s
in the first two columns on the left, the ones with
The 4s orbital has lower energy than the 3d p-orbitals are found on the right. The transition
orbitals; it is first filled with electrons before the metals have d-orbitals and are found at the middle
3d orbitals. and the elements with f-orbitals as valence
Elements scandium to copper are transition configurations are
metals. These elements will have incompletely found at the bottom.
filled d subshells or readily gives electrons and
form cations that have incomplete filled d
subshells. There will be some irregularities in the
Electron Configuration Worksheet
1. Complete the table below with the appropriate
information as asked.