Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

|

Electronic Configurations (SL IB Chemistry)

Exam Questions

1 hour20 questions
1a1 mark

Describe what is meant by the term orbital.

1b2 marks

Draw the shapes of the s, px, py and pz orbitals.

1c
Sme Calculator
1 mark

State the maximum number of orbitals in the n = 4 energy level.

1d2 marks

List the d, f, p and s orbitals in order of decreasing energies.

Did this page help you?

2a2 marks

Write the full electronic configurations for the following species 

i)
K
[1]
 
ii)
Sr2+ 
[1]
2b2 marks

Write the condensed electronic configurations for the following species

i)
Na
[1]

 

ii)
Al3+ 
[1]
2c2 marks

Complete the orbital diagrams of phosphorus and fluorine as shown in the diagram below.

2-1-ib-sl-sq-easy-q4c

2d2 marks

Give the number of each type of orbital in the first four energy levels.

Did this page help you?

3a3 marks

Using sections 1 and 5 of the data booklet describe how the following change in moving from the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum to the radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

i)
Wavelength
[1]
 
ii)
Frequency
[1]
 
iii)
Energy
[1]

3b3 marks

Describe the process occurring in an atom to produce a single line on an emission spectrum.

3c2 marks

Distinguish between a continuous spectrum and a line spectrum.

3d3 marks
Describe the emission spectrum of hydrogen. Outline how this spectrum is related to the energy levels in the hydrogen atom.

Did this page help you?

4a2 marks

The first ionisation energy of aluminium is lower than magnesium. Write the full electron configurations of aluminium and magnesium.

4b2 marks

Using the electron configurations from part (a), explain why the first ionisation energy of aluminium is lower than magnesium.

Did this page help you?

1a2 marks

The element chromium has several naturally occurring isotopes whose abundances are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Mass number

% abundance

50

4.345

52

83.789

53

9.501

54

2.365

 

Calculate the relative atomic mass of chromium to two decimal places.

1b1 mark

State the full electron configuration for chromium.

1c2 marks

State the meaning of [Ar] and complete the orbital diagram shown below for chromium.

Figure 1

2-1-ib-chemistry-sq-q3c-medium

1d2 marks

This question is about the chromium(III) ion, Cr presubscript 24 presuperscript 52 superscript 3 plus end superscript.

i)
State the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons in the chromium(III) ion. 
[1]
 
ii)
Write the full electron configuration for the chromium(III) ion. 
[1]

Did this page help you?

2a6 marks

This question is about line emission spectra of elements.

i)
Explain the difference between a continuous spectrum and a line spectrum. 
[2]
 
ii)
Draw a labelled diagram that shows electron transitions in a hydrogen atom in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Include three  electron transitions for each region. 
[4]
2b2 marks

The visible line emission spectrum of hydrogen is shown below in Figure 1 and the wavelengths of the first four lines are listed in Table 1.

i)
Use the information provided and Sections 1 and 2 of the IB data booklet to determine the frequency of the red line.
[1]

Figure 12-1-ib-chemistry-sq-q4b-medium

The visible line emission spectrum hydrogen

 Table 1

Balmer spectral line

Wavelength in nm

Colour

656

Red

486

Blue(cyan)

434

Blue

410

Violet

 

ii)
Which spectral line carries more energy, Hα or Hδ?
[1]
2c1 mark

Draw the shape of a 1s atomic orbital and 2p atomic orbital.    

2d2 marks

Describe the relationship between colour, energy, frequency, and wavelength in the visible spectrum.

Did this page help you?

3a3 marks

Electron configurations give you a summary of where you can find an electron around the nucleus of an atom. They can also be determined for an ion after an atom loses or gains electrons.

i)
State the full electron configuration of the rubidium ion, Rb presubscript 37 presuperscript 85 superscript plus. 
[1]
 
ii)
State and explain the relative size of a rubidium ion compared to a krypton atom. 
[2]

3b2 marks

The element rubidium has two naturally occurring isotopes of 85Rb and 87Rb. The relative atomic mass of rubidium is 85.47. Calculate the percentage abundance of each isotope.

3c2 marks

The electrons in an atom are found in orbitals around the nucleus, which have different energy levels sometimes called shells.

i)
The fourth shell consists of the atomic orbitals 4d, 4f, 4p and 4s. List these orbitals in order of increasing energy. 
[1]
 
ii)
State the number of atomic orbitals present in 4d, 4f, 4p and 4s. 
[1]

 

3d1 mark

Rubidium forms an ionic compound with selenium, Rb2Se. Using boxes to represent orbitals and arrows to represent electrons, sketch the orbital diagram of the valence shell of selenium on the axis provided.

Figure 1

2-1-ib-chemistry-sq-q5d-medium

Did this page help you?

1a1 mark

The diagram below shows electron transitions in a hydrogen atom in two regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

hydrogen-emission-spectrum

Using section 5 of the Data booklet, predict which electron transition is most likely to correspond to the emission of red light.

1b1 mark

Using sections 1 and 5 of the data booklet, predict which electron transition will correspond to the greatest frequency of light emitted.

1c
Sme Calculator
1 mark

The wavelengths of the first four lines for the Balmer series are shown below.

Balmer spectral line Wavelength in nm Colour
Hα 656 red
Hβ 486 cyan(blue)
Hγ 434 blue
Hδ 410 violet

Using section 1 of the Data booklet, determine the ratio of the frequencies Hα to Hγ to 2 decimal places.

Did this page help you?