Name: Class: Date: Electron Arrangements: To complete this activity, you will need a real periodic table & the periodic table you colored. Objectives: Write full & abbreviated electron configurations for the first 20 elements Draw orbital diagrams Draw electron-dot diagrams Identify the of valence electrons Based on valence electrons, predict the charge a given element would take Identify elements based on their electron configurations or orbital diagrams Introduction: Our current understanding of atomic structure defines orbitals as areas where electrons are most likely to be found. Knowing about the outside electrons in an atom, the valence electrons, helps us predict how elements will react. Scientists have developed methods for communicating this information electron configurations, orbital diagrams and electron-dot structures. In this activity you will learn how to express electron arrangements in these three ways. First, the electron configuration: Whole s 1, 2, 3, etc are used to denote the main energy levels and s, p, d, f denote energy sublevels. Superscripts above the sublevel letter indicate the of electrons in that sublevel. Electron configuration of Oxygen: 1s 2 2s 2 2p 4 Sometimes these can become very long and cumbersome so an abbreviated version is used. The abbreviation uses the noble gas that comes before the element to represent all the electrons except the valence electrons (see definition below.) Abbreviated Electron of Oxygen: [He] 2s 2 2p 4 Second, Orbital diagrams: are used to illustrate the distribution of electrons in the orbitals. The electrons go in opposite directions to show them spinning in opposite directions on their axes. The aufbau principle, Pauli exclusion principle and Hund s rule all must be followed. Orbital Diagram for Oxygen: 1s 2s 2p A third method used to show electron arrangements is the electron dot diagram. This notation uses only those s and p electrons in the highest energy level, called valence electrons. Valence electrons are close to the outside of the atom and are responsible for performing chemical reactions. A dot for each valence electron is placed around the element symbol. Electron-dot diagram for Oxygen: O Each of these three methods for representing electron arrangements has merits, and they can be used to illustrate the concepts of bonding, molecular structure and magnetism. In this exercise, you will practice each method of illustrating electron distribution for the first 20 elements of the periodic table (and a few extra.) The Charge that an atom will take when it reacts depends on the of valence electrons. Atoms want to have the electron configuration of a noble gas and will gain or lose the least amount of valence electrons possible in order to obtain that configuration. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons, which means that with 2 more it would have the noble gas electron configuration of Ne or it could lose all 6 to have the configuration of helium. Since 2 is less than six. Oxygen will gain 2 electrons resulting in the possession of a 2- charge since electrons have a negative charge. (O 2- )
Element and Atomic 1H Full Electron Abbreviated Electron Full Orbital Diagram Number of valence e-s Electron Dot Diagram Group Charge atom will take when it reacts 2He 3Li 4Be 5B 6C
Element and Atomic 7N Full Electron Abbreviated Electron Full Orbital Diagram Number of valence e-s Electron Dot Diagram Group Charge atom will take when it reacts 8O 9F 10Ne 11Na 12Mg
Element and Atomic Full Electron Abbreviated Electron Full Orbital Diagram Number of valence e-s Electron Dot Diagram Group Charge atom will take when it reacts 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 15P 3-19K 1+ 21Sc (honors) 32Ge (honors) 29Cu (honors) 1) Why are the outer-most electrons the only ones included in the orbital filling diagram and the electron dot diagram?
2) The orbital filling diagram has arrows pointing in opposite directions when two electrons occupy the same orbital. What do the arrows indicate? 3) Find elements that are in the same group. What do you notice about the of valence electrons they have? 4) What do you notice about the group and the of valence electrons each element has? (How can the group help you determine the valence electrons?) 5) Element Z has an electron dot diagram Z, name at least 2 elements which could be Z. 1) 2) 6) Identify the element which ends with the following orbital filling diagram: 5s 5p 7) Identify the element with the following electron configurations: a) 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 4s 1 b) 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 4s 2 3d 10 4p 1 c) [Ne] 3s 2 3p 6 d) [Xe]6s 2 4f 14 5d 10 6p 6 8) Name the element below and tell how many valence electrons it has. a) Al b) Cl c) P d) Sr 9) What energy level are the valence electrons of the following elements in? a) Li b) N c) I d) Ra