Electron Configuration and Periodic Trends
● Spin Quantum Number, mₛ
● Results from the particle-like nature of electrons
● Electrons can be thought of as spinning about their axis
● This is proven experimentally, as electrons are shown to have magnetic dipoles as if
they are spinning
● Because electrons are not classical particles, they don’t truly spin as we would
imagine a spinning top
● mₛ can be either +½ or -½
• Pauli Exclusion Principle
• Only two electrons of opposite
spin can occupy an orbital
• No two electrons have the same
4 quantum numbers
Quantum
Symbol Allowed Values Property
Number Name
Principal n Positive integers (1, 2, 3, etc.) Orbital Size and
Energy
Orbital Shape l Integers from 0 to (n - 1) Orbital Shape
Magnetic ml Integers from - l to + l Orbital Orientation
Spin mₛ +½ or -½ Electron Spin
Direction
• A shorthand notation that shows electron arrangement within orbitals
• Can be written in 3 different ways:
o Energy Level Diagrams
o Complete Electron Configuration
o Condensed Electron Configuration
• The # of electrons in an atom is equal
to the atomic number
• When adding electrons to orbitals,
start by filling the orbital with the
lowest energy and work your way up
• Remember each orbital can have a
maximum of two electrons
• Every orbital in a subshell is occupied by one electron before any pairing can occur
• All electrons in singly occupied orbitals have the same spin
• Bus analogy: when boarding the bus, all the empty seats fill first before passengers sit
next to someone
Ex: Nitrogen – 7 electrons: e- configuration 1s22s22p3
Orbital Box Diagram
Anions:
• Negatively charge
• Add extra electrons following the rules
Cations:
• Positively charged
• Draw a neutral atom then subtract the required number of electrons starting at the
highest orbital and working down
• Use boxes (or circles) to represent each orbital in any given energy level and arrows
for electrons
• Unoccupied circles when there are no electrons
• A box can have at most two electrons in it; and only if the arrows are pointing in
opposite directions
• Can be made horizontally or vertically. Vertical diagrams allow representation of
energy of sublevels.
• Example O:
• Condensed versions of orbital diagrams which do not include boxes or circles. They do
not specify each electron individually
Oxygen:
• Each component consists of
• A number denoting the energy level,
• A letter denoting the type of orbital,
• A superscript denoting the number of electrons in the orbital.
• Shorthand method for writing the electron configuration.
• Uses the noble gas from the previous period in square brackets.
• Ex. Aluminum - 13 electrons
• 1s²2s²2p⁶3s23p1 full configuration
• [Ne] 3s23p1 condensed configuration
• Cr, Cu, and Mo
• Evidence suggests that half-filled or completely filled orbitals are more stable than
others. 3d orbital and 4s orbital are very close in energy.
• For example: Chromium or Cr
• [Ar]4s13d5 not [Ar]4s23d4
• e.g., Cu [Ar]4s13d10 or [Ar]3d104s1
● Different blocks on the periodic table correspond to different types of orbitals
• Pg. 188 #11, 12, 15, 16, 18-20
• Electron Configuration Pogil
• Atomic radii are measured by taking
half the distance between identical
nuclei in a crystal of a metal element
or between identical nuclei in a single
covalent bond.
• n – as n increases, electrons are farther from the nucleus.
• Size INCREASES as you go DOWN a group. There is an increased shielding effect from
inner electrons.
• Effective Nuclear Charge (Zeff)– net force of attraction between electrons and the nucleus
• As Zeff increases, electrons are more strongly attracted to the nucleus
• Size DECREASES as you go across a period to the RIGHT (more protons, more Zeff). Same
outer energy level (same n) - little change in shielding effect.
• The energy needed to remove one electron from a ground state atom (to overcome
attraction between e- and p+)
• Easier to remove 𝑒 − smaller IE
• Atoms with multiple electrons have multiple ionization energies
• 1st IE < 2nd IE < 3rd IE…
• As Zeff increases (and size decreases), electrons are harder to remove so ionization
energy increases
• Ionization energy decreases going down and increases going right
● Generally as
you go across a
period, first IE
levels increase
due to
increased Zeff
• Groups IIA and IIIA
• Electron is removed from a p-
orbital rather than an s-orbital
• Electron is further from the nucleus
• There is a small amount of
repulsion from the s-electrons
• VA and VIA
• Electron is removed from a doubly
occupied p-orbital
• There is electron repulsion that
aids in the removal of the electron
• The change in energy that occurs when an electron is added to a gaseous atom
• AKA the ability of an atom to accept electrons.
• F has a high EA
• F(1s²2s²2p⁵) + e⁻ F⁻ (1s²2s²2p⁶) ΔE = EA₁
• The easier it is to add an electron, the higher the EA (or larger negative number)
• Electron Affinity decreases as you add more electrons
• 1st EA > 2nd EA > 3rd EA…
• EA decreases down a group, and generally increases to the right
• Positive values mean that energy
is required to add an electron.
• Negative values mean energy is
given off when an electron is
added.
• Trends in EA are more irregular
than IE and atomic radius. You
will learn more in future
chemistry.
• Review Question: pg. 193 # 1-14
