Shell Structure Flashcards
What are electron shells made up of?
Electron shells are made up of sub-shells and orbitals
What can electron shells also be called?
They are sometimes called energy levels
What is the name of numbers that shells are given?
Principle quantum numbers
What shells have a greater energy level?
Shells further away from the nucleus have a greater energy level than shells closer to the nucleus.
What is an orbital?
An orbital is a bit of space that an electron moves in. Orbitals within the same sub-she’ll have the same energy.
How do electrons move within the orbitals?
The electrons in the orbitals “spin” in the opposite direction. This is called spin-pairing.
What are the different orbitals?
S orbitals are spherical. P orbitals have dumbbell shapes. There are 3 p orbitals and they’re at right angles to each other.
First tip for electron configurations
Electrons fill up the lowest energy sub-shells first
Second tip for electron configurations
Electrons fill orbitals singly before they start sharing
Third tip for electron configurations
For the configurations of ions from the s and p blocks of the periodic table, just remove or add that electrons to or from the highest-energy occupied sub-shell.
What does the electronic structure decide?
The electronic structure decides the chemical properties of an element.
How many outer shells do S block elements have?
S block elements have 1 or 2 outer shell electrons. These are easily lost to form positive ions with an emery gas configuration.
How many electrons can P block gain? (Group 5, 6 and 7)
The elements in P block can gain 1, 2 or 3 electron to form negative ions with an inert gas configuration.
Group 4 to 7 can also share electrons when they form covalent bonds.
What is the role of Group 0 gases?
Group 0 gases are inert therefore they have completely filled S and P sub-shells and don’t need to bother gaining, losing or sharing electrons. Their full sub-shells make them inert.
What is the role of D block elements?
The D block elements (include the transition metals) tend to lose S and D electrons to form positive ions.
