Module 1

THE QUANTUM THEORY AND ITS RELATION TO ELECTRONIC

CONFIGURATION

[Link] HAPPENED
PRE-ACTIVITY/PRE-TEST

I. Identify the correct answer found in the box below and write your
answer before the number.
- Energy level - Pauli’s exclusion principle - Spin quantum number
- Neils Bohr - Valence electrons - Aufbau principle
- d orbitals - Werner Heisenberg - Sub-shells
-1 - Erwin Schrodinger - f orbitals
-0 - Uncertainty principle - Hund’s rule

- Energy level
1. It describes the energy of the electron to sustain its path
around the nucleus.
Pauli’s exclusion principle
2. This states that no two electrons in the same atom can have
the same set of four quantum numbers.
- Spin quantum number
3. It describes the spin of the electrons.
- Neils Bohr
4. He describes that each energy level can only
accommodate a certain number of
electrons.
- Valence electrons
5. Electrons are located at the outermost energy level.
Electro configuration
6. This describes how the electrons are distributed among the
orbitals.
- d orbitals
7. It can accommodate a maximum of 10 electrons.
- Werner Heisenberg
8. He states that the position and momentum of electrons can
be determined simultaneously.
- Sub-shells
9. These are the s, p, d, and f.
1 10. The lowest possible energy level
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II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
DISCUSSION:

Quantum Numbers
Each electron in an atom is unique. This was described by
Pauli’s exclusion principle that no two electrons can have the
same sets of quantum numbers. The quantum numbers describe
the electron in an atom. An analogy to this is similar to when you
watch a movie in a movie house. You buy a ticket, in the ticket, it
indicates the row and the seat. This is similar to the electron in an
atom. The electron has its unique location and the quantum
number describes where the electron is.
Principal Quantum Numbers
The principal quantum number (n) indicates the size of the
orbital (see Figure 1). The bigger the n is, the greater the
average distance of an electron in the orbital from the nucleus,
and thus, the larger the orbital and the atom. The principal
quantum number also indicates the main energy level occupied
by an electron and takes on positive integers (1, 2, 3, and so on)
as values. For example, an electron with n = 1 occupies the first level
closest to the nucleus. More than one electron can occupy the same
energy level in the same shell. A shell is composed of a set of
orbitals that have the same principal quantum n.

Figure 1. The energy level (n) is the energy of the electron to sustain its path. Note, that the lowest
energy level is 1. As n increases, the distance from the nucleus increases.
Source: [Link] [Link]

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Azimuthal Quantum Numbers
The azimuthal or orbital or angular quantum number (ℓ),
a.k.a. angular momentum quantum number, corresponds to
the shape of the orbital. Allowed values for ℓ include 0 and all
positive integers less than or equal to n-1. For example, an n
=1 denotes a specific orbital shape corresponding to ℓ = 0. An
n = 2 may have one of two orbital shapes corresponding to ℓ
= 0 and ℓ = 1. Letters are assigned to the orbitals depending
on the l values. Therefore, an ℓ = 0 corresponds to an s
orbital; ℓ = 1 means a p orbital; and so on. One or more
orbitals with the same values of n and l are known as
subshells. For example, the shell with n = 2 has two subshells (ℓ = 0
and ℓ = 1). These subshells are referred to as the 2s and 2p
subshells. The number “2” refers to n, while s and p refer to the two
values of l. Each subshell can accommodate only a certain
number of electrons as indicated in Table 1.
Table 1. Azimuthal or orbital or angular quantum numbers describe the shape
of the electron probability in an atom. The different shapes are also known as
subshells and each has its own shape.

Source: [Link]

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Magnetic Quantum Number
The magnetic quantum number (mℓ) indicates the
orientation of an orbital around the nucleus (see Figure 2). For a
particular value of l, there will be (2ℓ + 1) possible values of ml.
Hence the values ofml are integers from –l to +l, including 0. For
example, if ℓ = 0, only one value for ml is possible; that is ml = 0. If
l = 1, there are (2ℓ + 1 = 3) possible values of mℓ which are -1, 0,
and +1. The number of ml values also gives an idea about the
number of orientations of orbitals belonging to a particular
subshell. For instance, for a p orbital with ℓ = 1, three possible ml
values (-1, 0, +1) imply that there are three possible orientations of
the p orbital around the nucleus.

Figure 2. The magnetic quantum number describes the orientation in space of the electrons. Notice that, s has only
1 orientation since it’s spherical. For p, have 3 orientations, d have 5 orientations, and f have 7 orientations. Each
orientation can accommodate a maximum of 2 electrons. So,s can have a maximum of 2 electrons, p can have a
maximum of 6 electrons, d can have a maximum of 10 electrons, and f can have a maximum of 10 electrons.
Source: [Link]

Spin Quantum Numbers

The spin quantum number (ms) indicates the spins of the
electrons and may have only two possible values, +1/2 and -1/2.
The (+) and (-) signs only refer to the orientation of the spin, and
not to the electric charge (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. The spin quantum number describes the spin of the electrons. This spin creates a partial
charge of ± ½. This explains why there are 2 electrons occupying an orbital excise even though both
electrons are negatively charged.
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Source: [Link] [Link]

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Rules Governing the Combination of Quantum Numbers
1. The quantum numbers n, ℓ, mℓ, are integers.
2. The principal quantum number, n, cannot be zero (0). Its
lowest value is 1. Example, n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on
3. The azimuthal quantum number, ℓ, can have a value from 0 to
n- 1
4. The highest value it can have depends on n. Example, if n = 6, ℓ
can be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
5. The magnetic quantum number, ml, can be any integer from –l to
+l. Example, if ℓ = 1, mℓ can be -1, 0 or +1. If ℓ = 2, mℓ can be -2, -1,
0, +1 or +2.
6. The spin quantum number, ms, can only be +1/2 or -1/2. No
other values are allowed.

Electronic configuration
Electron distribution is important in understanding chemical
bonding and chemical reactions. The step-by-step process of
arranging electrons in an atom is called electronic configuration.
Based on the quantum number, each electron is unique and has
its own quantum number. This is stated by Pauli’s exclusion
principle which states that no two electrons can have the same
sets of quantum numbers. In building an atom by adding electrons,
it should start from the lowest possible energy level which is n = 1.
An analogy to this is when building a house, it should start from
the foundation and up, it should not be possible to start the house with
a roof. As seen in the diagram, as energy level (n) increases, the number
of sub-shells that needs to be filled up also increases as well as the
number of electrons. In addition, the distance from the nucleus also
increases as the energy level increases (see figure 4).

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 - In filling electron, the green line should
be followed starting from 1s.
- Notice, that when 3p is reach, the
next to be filled up is not 3d but 4s. This is
also be seen on a higher energy level
of different orbital. This is due to the
overlapping of orbitals. And this is
experimentally been proven. Note,
that s can occupy a maximum of 2
electrons, p can occupy a maximum
of 6 electrons, d can occupy a
maximum of 10 electrons, and f can
occupy a maximum of 14 electrons.
Figure 4. Aufbau Diagram – a
mnemonic used in electronic
configuration

There are two notations used in writing the electronic

configuration, the first is spdf notation and orbital notation. Spdf
notation highlighted the number of electrons occupying a certain
energy level. On the other hand, orbital notation highlighted on
the number of electrons occupying a certain subshell or orbital.
Below are some examples of the notations used for writing the
electronic configuration.
A. Spdf notation of Helium, He (2 electrons);
Number of electron/s
2
Energy level (n)
1s Azimuthal (ℓ)
B. Orbital notation of Neon, Ne (10 electrons)

or

Note that in some sources, they are using a line instead of a box; 1 line for s
subshell, 3 lines for p subshell, 5 lines for d subshells, and 7 lines for f subshells. The boxes
and lines in orbital notation represent degeneracy. Degeneracy means they are on
the same energy but differ in spatial orientation. For example, p subshell contains 3
possible spatial orientations px, py, and pz. t the 3 p’s. The basic electron distribution
is made when an atom is in its ground state. Ground state means that an atom’s
electrons occupy the lowest possible energy levels. Representing electron
distribution follows three general rules – the Aufbau principle, the Pauli exclusion
principle, and Hund’s rule.

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 The Aufbau principle states that electrons should occupy first
the orbitals with lower energy before those with higher energy. From
figure 1, 1s orbital should be filled first before the 2s orbital. Take
note also that the 4s orbitals have lower energy than 3d orbital.
The Pauli exclusion principle states that no
Assuming 2S orbital with 2 electrons. The
two electrons in an atom can quantum numbers for arrow up: n = 0, ℓ = 0,
possess the same set of mℓ = 0, ms = +1/2. For arrow down; n = 0, ℓ =
quantum numbers. This 0, mℓ = 0, ms = -1/2
principle emphasizes the
significance of the spin quantum
numbers. If two electrons in an
atom have the same n, l, ml
Figure 2. The arrow up and arrow down
they should still have different ms represents electrons and each have its own
values; meaning, one electron unique quantum numbers.
must have ms = +1/2 and
the other must-have ms = -1/2. This principle is best explained
using orbital diagrams. Consider the two electrons in the 1s
orbital. Recall that the s orbital can accommodate up to two
electrons only. Take note of the set of quantum numbers of each
electron.
Lastly, Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity or simply Hund’s
rule suggests that the most stable arrangement of electrons in
subshells is the one with the greatest number of parallel spins.
This means that each orbital in a subshell is singly occupied
before the pairing of electrons occurs. Below is an example of
applying Hund’s rule;
CORRECT:

INCORRECT:

(a) (b) (c)

Magnetic property based on electronic configuration

Magnetism is a property of materials that respond to an

applied magnetic field. Permanent magnets have persistent
magnetic fields caused by ferromagnetism, the strongest and
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most familiar type of magnetism. However, all materials are
influenced differently by the

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presence of a magnetic field. Some are attracted to a magnetic
field (paramagnetic); others are repulsed by it (diamagnetic); still,
others have a much more complex relationship with an applied
magnetic field (e.g., spin-glass behavior and antiferromagnetism).
Substances that are negligibly affected by magnetic fields are
considered non- magnetic, these are copper, aluminum, gases,
and plastic. Pure oxygen exhibits magnetic properties when
cooled to a liquid state.

The magnetic properties of a given element depend on the

electron configuration of that element, which will change when
the element loses or gains an electron to form an ion. If the
ionization of an element yields an ion with unpaired electrons, these
electrons may align the sign of their spins in the presence of a
magnetic field, making the material paramagnetic. If the spins tend
to align spontaneously in the absence of a magnetic field, the
resulting species is termed ferromagnetic.

Determination if paramagnetic or diamagnetic

The magnetic properties of a substance can be determined

by examining its electron configuration: If it has unpaired electrons,
then the substance is paramagnetic and if all electrons are
paired, the substance is then diamagnetic. This process can be
broken into three steps:

[Link] down the electron configuration

[Link] the orbital notation
[Link] if unpaired electrons exist at the outermost energy level.
[Link] whether the substance is paramagnetic or
diamagnetic. Paramagnetic if it contains at least 1 unpaired
electron and diamagnetic if it has paired electrons.

Example 1: Determine the electronic configuration of Cl using a.) spdf

notation, and b.) orbital notation.
Solution.
For a.) Find the number of electrons. For Cl atoms, there are 17
electrons

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 - Writing the spdf notation (Note, use Aufbau diagram):
1s22s22p63s23p5
For b.) Writing the orbital notation:

1S 2S 2p 2s 3p
Based on the orbital notation, the Cl contains an unpaired electron in
the 3p orbital, thus it is expected to be paramagnetic, albeit weak.

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