Electronic Configuration: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Electronic Configuration of an Element?

Electronic Configuration of an element is the symbolic representation of how the electrons of that atoms are arranged across different atomic orbitals.

What are Three Rules used while Writing Electronic Configuration of Elements?

The three rules used in filling the atomic orbital or writing the Electronic configuration of an elements are,

1. Aufbau Principle
2. Pauli’s Exclusion Principle
3. Hund’s Rule of Maximum Multiplicity

How are Groups and Periods related to Electron Configuration?

Groups are determined by the number of valence electrons and periods are determined by the number of electron shells.

Why are Electronic Configurations of an Element Important?

Electron configurations of an element is important because it provide insight into the chemical behavior of elements by assisting in the determination of an atom’s valence electrons. It also helps in separating elements into four different blocks,

• s-block
• p-block
• d-block
• f-block

This makes studying various elements easy.

What is Pauli Exclusion Principle?

Pauli’s Exclusion Principle states that, an orbital can only hold a maximum of only two electrons with opposite spins, i.e. one with clockwise spin, and other with anti-clock wise spin.

Define Electronic Configuration.

Electronic configuration of an atom refers to the distribution of its electrons among the various atomic orbitals.

What is Hund’s Rule of Maximum Multiplicity?

Hund’s Rule of Maximum Multiplicity or simply Hund’s Rule specifies the order in which electrons are filled in all of a subshell’s orbitals.

Electronic Configuration is the arrangement of electrons in orbitals around an atomic nucleus. Electronic Configuration of a molecule refers to the distribution of electrons in various molecular orbitals. The number of electrons in bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals of a molecule or molecular ion can be calculated from its electronic configuration.

In this article, we will learn about Electronic Configuration, Electronic Configuration in Periods, and Electronic Configuration in Groups.