2.5.1: electron structure

Question 1

what are shells and how do they relate to energy levels?

Answer 1

shells are energy levels that make up a model of an atom to help us visualise how electrons are arranged
as the shell number increases so does the energy level

Question 2

what’s the current atom model based on?

Answer 2

the idea that an electron has properties of both a wave and a particle, and electrons only fit into energy levels by the wave nature

Question 3

what’s the formula for the number if electrons in a shell?

Answer 3

2n(squared)

Question 4

what’s an orbital?

Answer 4

a region around the nucleus that can hold up to 2 electrons with opposite spins

Question 5

describe an s-orbital

Answer 5

s-orbitals contains 1 orbital and can hold a maximum of 2 electrons
the electron cloud is within the shape of a sphere
the greater the energy level the greater the radius of its s-orbital

Question 6

describe a p-orbital

Answer 6

p-orbitals contain 3 orbitals and can hold a maximum of 6 electrons
the electron cloud is within the shape of a dumbell
the greater the shell number the further the p-orbital is from the nucleus

Question 7

why do electrons pair with opposite spins?

Answer 7

because they repel and pairing this way helps counteract repulsion

Question 8

which subshell fills first: 4s or 3d?

Answer 8

4s because it has a lower energy level

Question 9

how many orbitals does a d-orbital have and how many electrons can it hold

Answer 9

a d-subshell has 5 orbitals and can hold 10 electrons

Question 10

how many orbitals does a f-orbital have and how many electrons can it hold?

Answer 10

an f-orbital has 7 orbitals and can hold up to 14 electrons