Teaching Electron Configuration The Musical Way
Teaching Electron Configuration The Musical Way
Teaching Electron Configuration The Musical Way
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Printed in Great Britain. # 2006 TEMPUS Publications.
First, define the musical note in seven digits. This is Aufbau's building up principle written on
This is extremely simple. Students from a Chinese one line. Expression (3) is the `master skeleton' for
background do not have to learn this, because they electron configuration of all the elements in the
have all learned the `simplified musical note' in periodic table.
primary school. For students of other origins, a Step 4, or the final step, is to fill up the electrons
definition (Fig. 1(a) ) may be necessary: view these in each orbital. It is now time to get the student to
`digitized' musical notes (`do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti' focus on the maximum number of electrons each
for 1 through 7) as the primary quantum numbers orbital can accommodate: s up to 2; p up to 6; d up
(the primary shells). Writing down the primary to 10; and f up to 14 (as tabulated in Table 1).
quantum numbers following the Aufbau principle Drawing an analogy with a hotel (beds, rooms
makes a nice piece of music: and floors) always work wonders in explaining the
number of electrons the orbital can `house'. Also,
1223 343 4545 645 6756 7 (1) students appreciate having pointed out to them the
Or `do re re meÐme fa meÐfa so fa soÐla fa soÐ `plus 4' rule: 2 plus 4 is 6 (max for p), 6 plus 4 is 10
la ti so la ti', as given in Fig. 1(b). This is step 2. (max for d); and 10 plus 4 is 14 (max for f).
At this point of time, a quiz is a good idea, to
allow the student to digest the information and put
* Accepted 19 May 2006. the `music way' to work. For instance, complete
951
952 S. Zhang
Fig. 1. The musical way: (a) digitizing the basic musical note: `do re me fa so la ti' as numbers 1 through 7, (b) electron shell
arrangements in music `do re re meÐme fa meÐfa so fa soÐla fa soÐla ti so la ti'.
REFERENCES
1. Robert C. Weast, M. J. Astle and W. H. Beyer, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 66th edition,
CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida (1986), p. B-4.
APPENDIX I
THE MODERN PERIODIC TABLE: A REVIEW
The arrangement of elements in the modern periodic table is based on the electron configuration of atoms.
Electron configuration refers to the order in which electrons are arranged around the nucleus of an atom.
Teaching Electron Configuration the Musical Way 953
The periodic table contains rows and columns. The columns are called periods. The rows are called groups.
There are 7 periods and 18 groups in the modern periodic table (Fig. 2).
The periods represent the energy levels indicated by the principal quantum numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
The 18 groups of elements have been classified according to the orbitals (s, p, d and f) because the electrons
in these orbitals determine their chemistry. The s-orbital accommodates up to 2 electrons spinning in
opposite directions, the p-orbitals up to 6 electrons (3 p-orbitals each can `house' 2 electrons spinning in
opposite directions); the d-orbital up to 10 electrons (5 d-orbitals times 2 each) and the f-orbital 14 electrons
(7 orbitals times 2 each).
APPENDIX II
THE ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
As electrons fill up the orbitals in an atom, they do so in an effort to minimize the total energy. The
energy of an electron depends on the combination of its primary quantum number and the angular
momentum; thus 4s is filled up before 3d, etc. Filling of the orbitals follows Aufbau's principle (Fig. 3): the
sequence in which the orbitals are filled represents the increasing energy of these orbitals. Spatially, the
orbital with the highest principal quantum number is the furthest from the nucleus. The number of electrons
of an elemental atom equals the atomic number; thus, given the atomic number of an element, the electron
configuration can be written according to Aufbau's building up principle. For instance, Germanium has an
atomic number of 32 (i.e. it has 32 electrons), thus the electron configuration of 32Ge is 1s22s22p63s2
3p64s23d10 4p2.
Sam Zhang has been Associate Professor with the School of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, since the turn of the millen-
nium. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
USA. His subjects include Materials Science, Wafer Fabrication and Advanced Materials
Characterization Techniques. His research interests include metallic and ceramic materials,
ceramic and bio-ceramic coatings with emphasis on processing methodologies, character-
ization of properties and industrial applications. Dr. Zhang also serves as Principal Editor
for the Journal of Materials Research. Details of his teaching and research can be accessed
through http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/msyzhang.