Electronic Configurations (Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award))
Revision Note
Written by: Stewart Hird
Reviewed by: Lucy Kirkham
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Electronic configuration of the first 20 elements
We can represent the structure of the atom in two ways: using diagrams called electron shell diagrams or by writing out a special notation called the electronic configuration (or electronic structure or electron distribution)
Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells (or energy levels) and each shell has a different amount of energy associated with it
The further away from the nucleus, the more energy a shell has
Electrons fill the shell closest to the nucleus
When a shell becomes full of electrons, additional electrons have to be added to the next shell
The first shell can hold 2 electrons
The second shell can hold 8 electrons
For this course, a simplified model is used that suggests that the third shell can hold 8 electrons
For the first 20 elements, once the third shell has 8 electrons, the fourth shell begins to fill
Electron shell diagram
A simplified model showing the electron shells
The arrangement of electrons in shells can also be explained using numbers
Instead of drawing electron shell diagrams, the number of electrons in each electron shell can be written down, separated by commas
This notation is called the electronic configuration (or electronic structure)
The electronic structure of carbon is 6 electrons, 2 in the 1st shell and 4 in the 2nd shell
So its electronic configuration is 2,4
Electronic configurations can also be written for ions
E.g. A sodium atom has 11 electrons, a sodium ion has lost one electron, therefore has 10 electrons; 2 in the first shell and 8 in the 2nd shell
Its electronic configuration is 2,8
You should be able to write the electron configuration for the first twenty elements
Electronic configurations of the first 20 elements
Element | Atomic Number | Electronic Configuration |
|---|---|---|
hydrogen | 1 | 1 |
helium | 2 | 2 |
lithium | 3 | 2,1 |
beryllium | 4 | 2,2 |
boron | 5 | 2,3 |
carbon | 6 | 2,4 |
nitrogen | 7 | 2,5 |
oxygen | 8 | 2,6 |
fluorine | 9 | 2,7 |
neon | 10 | 2,8 |
sodium | 11 | 2,8,1 |
magnesium | 12 | 2,8,2 |
aluminium | 13 | 2,8,3 |
silicon | 14 | 2,8,4 |
phosphorus | 15 | 2,8,5 |
sulfur | 16 | 2,8,6 |
chlorine | 17 | 2,8,7 |
argon | 18 | 2,8,8 |
potassium | 19 | 2,8,8,1 |
calcium | 20 | 2,8,8,2 |
Note: Although the third shell can hold up to 18 electrons, the filling of the shells follows a more complicated pattern after potassium and calcium. For these two elements, the third shell holds 8 and the remaining electrons (for reasons of stability) occupy the fourth shell first before filling the third shell
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You should be able to represent the first 20 elements using either electron shell diagrams or written electronic configuration.
Electronic configurations and the periodic table
There is a clear relationship between the electronic configuration and how the Periodic Table is designed
The number of notations in the electronic configuration tells us the number of occupied shells
This tells us what period an element is in
The last notation shows the number of outer electrons the atom has
This tells us the group an element is in
Elements in the same group have the same number of outer shell electrons
The relationship between the electronic configurations and periodic table
The electronic configuration for chlorine
Period: The red numbers at the bottom show the number of notations
The number of notations is 3
Therefore chlorine has 3 occupied shells
Group: The last notation, in this case 7
This means that chlorine has 7 electrons in its outer shell
Chlorine is therefore in Group 7
The position of chlorine on the periodic table
Chlorine is in Group 7, Period 3
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The group number will be labelled on the Periodic Table you are given in your exam, but the period number isn't so it is a good idea to write this on yourself at the beginning.
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