St D.

Comboni Senior Secondary School-Hawassa Chemistry G-11 2024/25

ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATIONS AND ORBITAL DIAGRAMS

The electron configurationfor any atom follows the following three principles:
1. Aufbau (building up) Principle:
In general, electrons occupy the lowest
-energy orbital available before entering
the higher energy orbital. Accordingly, the
The expectedconfiguration, those based on the aufbau principle, is not the ones observed
ground state electron configurations of atoms
throughthe emission spectra and magnetic properties of the elements.
are obtained by filling the subshell in the order;
1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f
2. Hund’s Principle.
Equal energy orbitals (degenerate orbitals) are each occupied by a single The reason for these exceptions to the aufbau principle are not completely
electron before the second electrons of opposite spin enters the orbital. understood, but it seems that the half-filled 3d subshell of chromium (3d5) and
In other words, each of the three 2p orbitals (2px, 2py and 2pz) will hold a thefully filled 3d subshell of copper (3d10) lends a special stability to the electron
single electron before any of them receives a second electron. configurations.
3. Pauli’s Exclusion Principle. F Because there is little difference between the 4s and 3d orbital energies,
No two electrons can have the same four quantum numbers. i.e. they must expected and observed electron configurations are quite close in energy.
differ in at least one of the four quantum numbers. Electron configurations and the periodic table
Note: aufbau is a German word, which means building-up, while Pauli and The Modern periodic table
Hund are the names of scientists.  Periodic relationships can be summarized by the general statement called
Ground State Electronic Configuration of the Elements periodic law.
The electronic configuration of an atom describes the distribution of the  The periodic law states that certain sets of physical and chemicalproperties
electronsamong atomic orbitals in the atom. recur at regular intervals (periodically) when the elements are
Two general methods are used to denote electron configurations. arrangedaccording to increasing atomic number.
1. The subshell (sublevel) notation uses numbers to designate the principalenergy Classification of the Elements
levels or principal quantum number and the letters s, p, d and f to identify the Elements are placed in the periodic table in accordance to valence electron
sublevels or sub-shells. Ex. 1s1, 1s2, 1s2 2s1 enteringthe orbital of lowest energy. There are 18 groups and 7 periods in the
2. The other way to present this information is through an orbital diagram, which modernperiodic table.
consistsof a box (or circle, or just a line) for each orbital available in a given PERIODIC PROPERTIES IN PERIODIC TABLE
energy level,grouped by sublevel, with an arrow indicating the electron’s Periodic Properties within a Group and a Period
presence and its directionof spin. Traditionally ↑, ms = +½ and ↓, ms = – ½, but o Elements in the same group have the same number of valence electrons.
these are arbitrary, so it isnecessary only to be consistent. The orbital diagrams  The periodic properties of the elements can be explained on the basis of
for the first three elements are: nuclear charge and effective nuclear charge.
Nuclear charge (Z):is the total positive charge in the nucleus of an atom.
Effective Nuclear charge (Zeff):
 The valence electrons are attracted to the nucleus and simultaneously
repelled by the inner shell electrons.
 The attraction of the nucleus for the valence electrons is also reduced
because inner electrons shield (or screen) the valence electrons.

St D. Comboni Senior Secondary School-Hawassa Chemistry G-11 Compiled By Tr. Abraham Page 1
 St D. Comboni Senior Secondary School-Hawassa Chemistry G-11 2024/25

 As a result, these inner electrons reduce the attraction of the nuclear  The electrons in an atom can be successively removed, one after another.
charge. M (g) + IE1 M+ (g) + e– 1st ionization energy
 The resulting net-positive nuclear charge attracting the valence electrons is M+ (g) + IE2 M2+ (g) + e– 2nd ionization energy
called effective nuclear charge, Zeff.  For a given element, the second ionization energy is higher than the first one.
 The Zeff is the difference between the nuclear charge (Z) and the inner  Ionization energy is always a positive value (and therefore is an endothermic
electrons (S) that shield the valence electrons. process) because energy is required to remove an electron from an atom.
 The effective nuclear charge is always less than the actual nuclear charge.  Ionization energy is a measure of the tendency of an atom to lose an electron.
Zeff = Z – S  Metals easily lose electrons and thus have low ionization energy.
1. Atomic Size/Atomic Radius  Non-metals have high ionization energy because they do not easily lose electrons.
 Atomic size is difficult to define. The electron cloud enveloping the nucleus Generally, ionization energy is affected by the following factors:
does not have a clear boundary because its electrons do not have fixed i)Atomic size
distances from the nucleus. Therefore, atoms do not have definite outer ii) Effective nuclear charge:
boundaries. iii) Types of electrons:
 For an isolated atom, such as a metal it may be taken as the distance between iv) Screening effect by the inner electrons:
the centre of atom and the outermost shell. v) Electron configuration (stability):
 For diatomic molecules atomic radius is equal to one-half of the distance A. Ionization energy in a group
between the nuclei of two atoms when they are linked together. Q. What happens to the ionization energy in a group? .
A. Atomic radii in a group  Generally, with the increasing atomic number, the first ionization energy
Q. What happens to the atomic radii in a group? decreases down the same group.
 Atomic radii increase in a group from top to bottom. The value of ionization potential normally decreases on going from top to
 As we go down a group the number of shells increases and valence bottom in a group because both atomic size and shielding effect increase.
electrons are The element having highest value of ionization potential is He.
present in higher shell and the distance of valence electrons from nucleus The values of ionization potential of noble gases are extremely high, because
increases. the orbitals of outermost orbit are fully-filled (ns2 , np6) and provide great
B. Atomic radii in a period stability.
Q. What happens to atomic radii in a period? In a period, the element having least value of ionization potential is an alkali
 In a period, atomic radius generally decreases from left toright. metal (group IA) and that having highest value is inert gas (Group 0)
 Since valence electrons are added in the same shell, they are more and more B. Ionization energy in a period
strongly attracted towards nucleus. This gradually decreases atomic radii.  The ionization energy increases in a period from left to right.
2. Ionization Energy (IE)/ potential (IP) Exceptions :
Q. In which region of the periodic table do you find elements with the:  In 2nd period Be> B, and in 3rd period Mg > Al due to high stability of fully filled
a. lowest tendency to lose electrons, and orbitals.
b. highest tendency to lose electrons?.  In 2nd period N > O and in the 3rd period P > S, due to stability of half filled
 The minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from an orbitals.
isolatedgaseous atom or ion in itsground state to form a gaseous ion is called  The increasing order of the values of ionization potential of the second period
ionization energy (IE). elements is Li < B < Be < C < O < N < F < Ne
 Ionization energy is represented by the following equation (where M  The increasing order of the values of ionization potential of the third period
denotes any elements is Na < Al < Mg < Si < S < P <Cl<Ar
metal) M (g) + Energy  M+ (g) + e– OR M (g) + IE  M+ (g) + e– 3. Electron Affinity (EA)

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 St D. Comboni Senior Secondary School-Hawassa Chemistry G-11 2024/25

Electron affinity is defined as the energy released in kilojoules/mole, when an  The scale ranges from 0.7 to 4.0. Fluorine, the most electronegative element, is
electron is added to an isolated gaseous atom to form a gaseous ion. assigned a value of 4.0, and the least electronegative element, cesium, has an
electronegativity value of 0.7.
OR A(g) + e– A– (g) + energy  The electronegativity of an atom is related to its ionization energy and electron
It is a measure of the attraction or ‘affinity’ of the atom for the extra added affinity.
electron. A. Electronegativity in a group
First electron affinity (EA1 ) is usually negative. Electronegativity decreases in a group from top to bottom.
The second electron affinity (EA2 ), however, is always positive because energy B. Electronegativity in a period
must be absorbed to overcome electrostatic repulsions and add another Electronegativity increases in a period from left to right.
electron to a negative ion. 5. Metallic and non-metallic Character
For example, the EA1 and EA2 of an oxygen atom can be written as: Q. What are characteristic properties of a metal?
 They are its electropositive character (the tendency to lose electrons), metallic
luster, ductility, malleability and electrical conductance.
 Smaller the value of IE, more electropositive and hence more metallic the
The smaller is the atomic size of an element, the stronger is the tendency to element would be.
form negative ions, and consequently the higher the electron affinity.  In moving down a group, atomic size increases progressively, and it becomes
Generally, electron affinity depends on atomic size and effective nuclear charge easier
of the elements. for elements to lose their valence electrons and form positive ions.
Greater the value of electron affinity, more energy is released during the  Therefore, metallic character increases down a group.
process A. Metallic character in a group
and greater is the tendency of the atom to gain electron. Metallic character of elements increases from top to bottom.
EX: 1 Cl(g) + e– Cl– (g) + EA = – 348 kJ/mol B. Metallic character in a period
Factors Affecting Electron Affinity Metallic character of elements decreasesin a period from left to right
Q Effective Nuclear charge ADVANTAGES OF PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION
Q Atomic Size or Atomic Radius The main advantages of using the periodic table are:
Q Shielding Effect :  The periodic table is useful for predicting the formulas of compounds.
Q Stability of Fully-Filled and Half-Filled Orbitals:  The periodic table is useful for predicting the physical and chemical
A. Electron affinity in a group properties
In a group, the electron affinity decreases on moving from top to bottom, that is, of elements.
less and less amount of energy is released.  The periodic table is also useful for predicting the behaviour of many
B. Electron affinity in a group compounds. (Ex: From strongly basic oxides to amphoteric and then
In a period, the electron affinity increases from left to right, that is, more and more acidic oxides as we move across a period.
amount of energy is released.
4. Electronegativity (EN)
 Electronegativity is relative tendency of a bonded atom toattract the bond-
electrons towards itself.
 It just compares the tendency of various elements to attract the bond-
electrons towards themselves.

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