WRITING
ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
Conceptual
• The electron confi guration gives information about the
number of electrons in each shell, subshell and orbital of
an atom
• The subshells are fi lled in order of increasing energy
Aufbau
Diagra
m
Work Example
Write the full electron configuration and
the condensed electron configuration
for fluorine (F)
Answer
• Step 1: Identify the element
⚬ Fluorine has an atomic number of 9, which represents the number of
protons. Since F is a neutral atom, the number of electrons is the same as
the number of protons
• Step 2: Use the Aufbau Diagram to distribute the 9 electrons the electrons
⚬ Start by filling the orbitals with electrons following the Aufbau Diagram
⚬ The first two electrons will go into the 1s subshell
⚬ 1s²
⚬ Next, move to the 2s subshell and add 2 electrons more
⚬ 2s²
⚬ Finally, proceed to the 2p subshell. Since there are three p orbitals, the
max number of electrons is 6. Considering there are just 5 electrons
remaining,
Answer cont’d
• Step 3: Combine the individual electron configurations and interpret the
information
⚬ 1s² 2s² 2p5
⚬ This tells us that fluorine has 9 electrons arranged as follows:
￭ 2 electrons in the 1s subshell
￭ 2 electrons in the 2s subshell
￭ 5 electrons in the 2p subshell
⚬ This also implies, that fluorine has 2 core electrons and 7 valence
electrons
• Step 4: Write down the condensed electron configuration using the closest
previous noble gas
⚬ The closest previous noble gas is helium (He)
⚬ The electron configuration for He is 1s²
⚬ Therefore, the condensed electron configuration for F is, [He] 2s² 2p5
The orbital diagram for
the atom of fluorine (F)
is shown
• Note that an orbital is fi lled fi rst with (↑) and then paired
with (↓)
• Electrons occupy fi rst the lowest energy subshells
ectron configuration and the Periodic Tab
• Elements in the same column (group)
of the periodic table have similar
electron configurations in their valence
shell
• This similarity explains why elements in
the same group exhibit similar chemical
properties
• The periodic table is organized in a way
that allows you to predict the electron
configuration of an element based on
its position in the table
Orbital
diagrams
• Orbital diagrams are a visual representation of electron configurations
• Boxes are used to represent orbitals
• Arrows are used to represent electrons with their spins indicated as up (↑) or down
(↓)
• Each orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons with opposite spins
• Electrons will fill orbitals with the same energy one at a time before pairing up with
an electron with opposite spin
Electron configuration: three
electrons in a p subshell
Hund’s Rule Electrons fill degenerate orbitals (same energy)
singly first, with parallel spins, to minimise
repulsion
The principal quantum number (n) indicates the
energy level of an electron:
• For example, 2p electrons are in the second shell,
n=2
• Each box represents an atomic orbital
• The boxes are arranged in order of increasing
energy from lower to higher (i.e. starting from
closest to the nucleus)
• The electrons are represented by opposite
arrows to show the spin of the electrons
Pauli Exclusion principle:
• An orbital holds two electrons with opposite
spins only
• Electrons pair only when no empty orbital of the
same energy is available
• Pairing costs less energy than jumping to a
higher orbital
• Electrons with the same spin repel each
other (spin–pair repulsion):
⚬ Electrons occupy separate orbitals
within a subshell first to minimise
repulsion, with spins aligned
⚬ They pair only after all orbitals are
singly occupied, with opposite spins
Electron configuration: three
electrons in a p subshell • This is known as Hund’s rule:
⚬ In a p subshell, electrons fill px, py,
and pz orbitals singly before pairing.
⚬ Electrons fill degenerate orbitals
(same energy) singly first, with
parallel spins, to minimise repulsion
E.g. the box notation for titanium is shown
below
The electrons in titanium are arranged in their orbitals as shown. Electrons
occupy the lowest energy levels first before filling those with higher energy
How to write electronic
configurations
• Electron configuration shows how electrons are arranged in
shells, subshells, and orbitals.
• There are two formats:
⚬ Full configuration; lists all electrons from 1s onward
⚬ Shorthand configuration; uses the symbol of the nearest
noble gas in brackets to represent inner electrons (e.g. [Ar])
• Ions form when atoms gain or lose electrons:
⚬ Anions (negative) form by adding electrons to the outer shell
⚬ Cations (positive) form by removing electrons from the outer
shell
Examples
• Electronic confi guration of Fe
⚬ Atomic number = 26 so there are 26
electrons
⚬ Full confi guration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2
3d6
⚬ Shorthand: [Ar] 4s2 3d6
• Electronic confi guration of Fe2+
⚬ Atomic number = 26 so there are 26
electrons, but the Fe2+ ion only has 24
electrons
⚬ Electrons are removed from the 4s orbital
before the 3d
Exceptions to the Aufbau principle
• Chromium and copper have the following electron
confi gurations:
⚬ Cr is [Ar] 3d5 4s1 not [Ar] 3d4 4s2
⚬ Cu is [Ar] 3d10 4s1 not [Ar] 3d9 4s2
• This is because the [Ar] 3d5 4s1 and [Ar] 3d10 4s1
confi gurations are energetically favourable
• By promoting an electron from 4s to 3d, these atoms achieve a
half full or full d-subshell, respectively
Worked Example
Write down the full and shorthand electron configuration of
the following elements:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
4.Ca2+
Answers
• Potassium • Gallium
⚬ Electrons: 19 ⚬ Electrons: 31
⚬ Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s¹ ⚬ Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
⚬ Shorthand: [Ar] 4s¹ 3d10 4s2 4p1
⚬ Note: Argon (Ar) has 18 electrons and is the ⚬ Shorthand: [Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p1
previous noble gas ⚬ Note: Includes filled 3d subshell after argon
• Calcium • Calcium 2+ ion
⚬ Electrons: 20 ⚬ Electrons: 18 (after losing two 4s electrons)
⚬ Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p63s2 3p6 4s2 ⚬ Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
⚬ Shorthand: [Ar] 4s² ⚬ Shorthand: [Ar]
⚬ Note: 4s is filled before 3d because it is lower ⚬ Note: Ca²⁺ has the same configuration as
in energy argon
Thank you
very much!