Electronic Configuration Flashcards
What is an Orbital?
A region of space where one is likely to find an electron
Name the letters of orbitals
S, p, d and f
What does the first energy level consist of?
A single S-orbital
What does the second main energy level consist of
Single s orbital
Three p orbitals (higher energy)
What does the third main energy level consist of
Single s orbital
Three p orbitals
Five d orbitals (higher energy)
How many electrons can a single orbital hold
2 electrons only if they have opposite spins
Which elements have different orbital rules?
Plus explanation
Chromium and Copper
Because the 4s Orbital is considered to be of lower energy
Rule of first row transition metals
For transition metals, the electrons in the 4s orbital are removed before the 3d orbital
Electronic configuration for Calcium (20 electrons)
1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2
What is ionisation energy?
It is the measure of the amount of energy needed to remove an electron from an atom
What is the first ionisation energy?
The energy required to remove one mole of electrons from a mole of gaseous atoms
Reason for increasing ionisation energy?
Because of increasing number of protons as you go down the periodic table
This means that electrons have a greater pull from the nucleus
Why can some elements have lower ionisation energy?
Shielding - the inner shells exerts a shielding effect which lowers the effect of the nuclear pull
Distance
Why do ionisation energy drop for some elements
Because the last electron is in a new shell, this increases the distance and the shielding effects the energy as well
Explain a trend in ionisation energies (hint: IE)
Successive ionisation energies are always stronger than the previous one
-> this is because the electron is being pulled away from a more positive species
