Electron Configuration

Electrons
We have already

learned that electrons

are found on the outer
shells of the atom.
In shell one-two
electrons
In shell two-eight
electrons
In shell three-8
electrons if element is
located before the
transition metals and
18 if element located
after the transition

These drawings show two different ways to represent the

arrangement of the electrons in atoms of the element
calcium, Ca.

C
a

C
a

1. Name at least two differences in the drawings.

2. Name at least two similarities in the drawings.

What are some of the differences you

may have noted?
There are more

circles in the drawing

on the right
The electrons are
distributed differently
in each model
Both drawings show a
total of 20 electrons
Electrons are on
circles around the
nucleus
The inner circle is
identical in both
drawings

Think of the atom as a building

Then think of the

electron shells as the

floors on the building.
The floors on the
atom would be the
electron shells
The floors then have
different rooms. You
can think of these
rooms as subshells of
the electron.
So atoms have shells
which in turn have
subshells

Subshells of an Atom
The subshells of an

Atom have special

names
s, p, d, and f

Just like the basic

shell, each subshell

has a maximum
capacity of electrons

Sublevels (subshells) within levels

More specific placement of electrons

s
p
d
f

Subshell and electons

Subshell s can have a

maximum of 2
electrons
Subshell p can have a
maximum of 6
electrons
Subshell d can have a
maximum of 10
electrons
Subshell f can have a
maximum of 14
electrons

Electron Configuration
It can take a lot of time having to draw out

subshell models of atoms that show the

arrangement of electrons
Chemist have developed a shorthand notation
called electron configuration

Electron configuration
Shorthand way to

numbe
r

keep track of
electrons in an atomEnergy
Gives more specific level
locations of electrons
in sublevels
(subshells)
Exampl

e
Energy
level

#of
electrons
lette found there
numbe
r
r
Sublevel

(subshell
s,p,d,or f)

2s
2

Number
(of
Sublevel electron
(subshell s)
s, p, d, or
f-in this
example
s)

Example
What element would

this be an example of

1
1s

Hydrogen

Writing Electron Configurations

Each subshell is

written using the shell

number and the
subshell letter.
In addition, the
number of electrons in
each subshell is
indicated with a
superscript number
The superscript
number add up to the
total number of
electrons for that atom

Li: Lithium

subshells

Write the electron configuration for

sulfur?

Sulfur
Sulfur is located in the

third row in Group 6A.

The atomic number for
sulfur is 16
So there are 16
electrons that need to
be distributed in
subshells beginning
with the 1s subshell,
then to the 2s subshell,
then 2p subshell, then
3s subshell, then 3p
subshell. The
superscripts are the
number of electrons, so
you add then up and
you get 16

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4

Connecting the Periodic Table to

Electron Arrangements
An outline of the

periodic table appears

here with color coding
to show the subshells
for the outermost
electron of each
element
For example, the
elements located in
the green area will
have its outermost
electron(s) in the p
subshell, in the blue in

Take your periodic table that I gave you and color in the different
blocks and label them, then glue it into your periodic table, just before
your vocabulary. You will use this to refer back to it.

1A
1 1s 2A
2

s3

4
5

Group B
elements

3A 4A 5A 6A 7A
2p

3 p

s
4
s

4p

3 d

4 d

5p

6s

5 d

7s

6 d

6
7

4 f
5f

7p

8A
1s

Decoding the table

In order to write out

an electron
configuration for a
specific element, you
can simply read from
the periodic table,
moving across from
left to right and then
down to the next row.

 The sequence of subshells

Example

for argon, Ar, is

1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p
The electron configuration

is 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6

1s
2
s
3
s
4
s
5s

3
d
4d

3p

6s

5d

5p

7s

6d

6
p

1p
2p

4p

4f
5f

A
r

Everything runs smooth until you get to the fourth row. After Argon (Ar), you
might expect the next electron to be in the 3d subshell. This does not
happen. The next element is potassium (K). Like the other elements in
Group 1a, potassium has one electron in the s subshell. Thus, you place an
electron in 4s before 3d. The electron configuration for potassium is
1s22s22p63s23p64s1, The electron configuration of arsenic (As) is
1s22s22p63s23p64s23d104p3
1s
2
s3
s
4
s

1p
2p
3
d

3p

4d

4p

6s

5d

5p

7s

6d

6
p

5s

4f
5f

Ar

As

Electron Configuration
You may have noticed

that you only have to

look at the end of
each electron
configuration to figure
out the identity of the
element associated
with it.
The ending provides
you with the exact
spot on the periodic
table where you can
find the element.

1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6 -

Argon
1s22s22p63s23p64s1-

Potassium
1s22s22p63s23p64s1-

Arsenic

Important to know
The s subshells fill with

electrons before the d subshells

for the previous shell. For
example, the 4s subshell fills
before the 3d subshell, the 5s
subshell fills before the 4d
subshell, and so on.

Lesson Summary
Electrons in atoms are

arranged into basic

shells labeled n=1, 2,
3, and so on.
These shells are
divided into subshells
The number of
subshells are equal to
n
The subshells are
referred to as s, p, d,
and f subshells

The s, p, d, and f

subshells can have a

maximum of 2, 6, 10,
and 14 electrons
respectively
Chemist use electron
configurations to
specify the
arrangements of
electrons in subshells
The periodic table
provides the
information needed to
write electron
configurations.