Describe what is meant by the term orbital.
Draw the shapes of the s, px, py and pz orbitals.
State the maximum number of orbitals in the n = 4 energy level.
List the d, f, p and s orbitals in order of decreasing energies.
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First teaching 2023
First exams 2025
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Electronic Configurations
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Electronic Configurations
Describe what is meant by the term orbital.
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Draw the shapes of the s, px, py and pz orbitals.
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State the maximum number of orbitals in the n = 4 energy level.
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List the d, f, p and s orbitals in order of decreasing energies.
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Write the full electronic configurations for the following species
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Write the condensed electronic configurations for the following species
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Complete the orbital diagrams of phosphorus and fluorine as shown in the diagram below.
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Give the number of each type of orbital in the first four energy levels.
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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.
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Describe the process occurring in an atom to produce a single line on an emission spectrum.
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Distinguish between a continuous spectrum and a line spectrum.
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The first ionisation energy of aluminium is lower than magnesium. Write the full electron configurations of aluminium and magnesium.
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Using the electron configurations from part (a), explain why the first ionisation energy of aluminium is lower than magnesium.
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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.
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State the full electron configuration for chromium.
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State the meaning of [Ar] and complete the orbital diagram shown below for chromium.
Figure 1
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This question is about the chromium(III) ion, .
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This question is about line emission spectra of elements.
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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.
Figure 1
The visible line emission spectrum hydrogen
Table 1
Balmer spectral line |
Wavelength in nm |
Colour |
Hα |
656 |
Red |
Hβ |
486 |
Blue(cyan) |
Hγ |
434 |
Blue |
Hδ |
410 |
Violet |
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Draw the shape of a 1s atomic orbital and 2p atomic orbital.
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Describe the relationship between colour, energy, frequency, and wavelength in the visible spectrum.
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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.
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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.
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The electrons in an atom are found in orbitals around the nucleus, which have different energy levels sometimes called shells.
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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
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The diagram below shows electron transitions in a hydrogen atom in two regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Using section 5 of the Data booklet, predict which electron transition is most likely to correspond to the emission of red light.
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Using sections 1 and 5 of the data booklet, predict which electron transition will correspond to the greatest frequency of light emitted.
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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.
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