Correcting Configurations: Learning Objectives

Education in Chemistry 16–18 years
Available from rsc.li/3mi1eui
Correcting configurations
This resource accompanies the infographic poster Electron configurations in
Education in Chemistry which can be viewed and downloaded at: rsc.li/3mi1eui
Learning objectives
1 Give the electron configurations of atoms and ions using subshells and orbitals
including Hund’s rules.
2 Use different representations of electron configurations including noble gas cores
and ‘electrons in boxes’.
3 Relate the subshell containing the outermost electrons to an element’s position in
the periodic table.
4 Explain electron configurations in terms of ionisation energy trends.
This resource can be used to check progress during teaching of the topic, or for
revision later on in the course. It could be teacher marked or used as a peer marked
formative assessment activity.
Learners who succeed with question 1 should hopefully make the link between pre-
16 representations of electron configuration and post-16 electron configurations as
illustrated in the infographic.
Question 4 tests learners’ knowledge about the formation of transition metal ions
(electrons removed from 4s before 3d) and you should ask your learners to miss this
out if it has not been covered.
Learners who can give the correct answers to questions 1–5 will have demonstrated
they have met learning objectives 1 and 2. Question 2 relates to learning objective
3. Question 5 tests Hund’s rules from learning objective 1.
Good answers to question 6–9 show learners have made progress towards learning
objective 4.
Answers
The correct answer for each question is given here in bold along with a full
explanation. Learners would not be expected to give their explanation of the wrong
answer to this level of detail but should identify the problem. Full notes are given
here to support any discussion of the answers.
1. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1
The student answer was the correct electronic configuration in terms of shells for
sodium but did not show the detail of the subshells asked for in the question. The
two electrons in the first shell are in the 1s orbital, the eight electrons in the
© 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry 1

second shell are in the 2s (two electrons) and 2p (six electrons) subshells. The
single electron in the third shell is in the 3s orbital.
2. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4

Sulfur is in the p-block of the periodic table. Its outermost electrons are in the p
subshell not the d subshell. The 3p subshell is filled before the 3d subshell when we
build up the electron configuration.
3. [Ar] 4s2
The student answer gives the wrong noble gas core. [Ne] represents 1s2 2s2 2p6
but for calcium we need a noble gas core of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6, which is
represented by [Ar].
4. [Ar] 3d3 (4s0) or [Ar] 3d3

The electron configuration of the vanadium atom is [Ar] 3d3 (4s2) and the 4s
electrons are the highest energy electrons, which are removed first when the V2+
ion is formed. Because the 4s electrons are removed first, it is usual to list the
subshells in order with 3d before 4s.
5. Carbon:
1s 2s 2p
↿⇂ ↿⇂ ↿ ↿
Or:
1s 2s 2p
↿⇂ ↿⇂ ↿ ↿
But not (although this is not commonly tested at this level):

1s 2s 2p
↿⇂ ↿⇂ ↿ ⇂
The electron configuration of carbon is 1s2 2s2 2p2, but the two electrons would
not occupy the same orbital if another orbital in the same subshell is unoccupied.
Two electrons in the same orbital experience greater electron-electron repulsion
than two electrons in different orbitals in the same subshell. Additionally, the two
electrons in different orbitals are lower in energy if they have the same spin, rather
than opposite spin. This is because the Pauli exclusion principle means they stay
further apart if they have the same spin. Hund’s rule states that the lowest energy
electron configuration, the ground state, in any subshell is the one with the
greatest number of parallel electron spins (although this is not commonly tested
at this level).
6. The ionisation energy increases from H to He because the nuclear charge has
increased (from 1+ to 2+) while the shielding has not substantially increased and

the electron removed is in the same shell and subshell. The increased nuclear
charge causes a greater attraction between the electron removed and the
nucleus so the electron is harder to remove, requiring more energy. The student
answer, suggesting that there is an extra electron, is wrong because an extra
electron would add to the electron-electron repulsion, making it easier to
remove. It would be easier to remove an electron for H-(g) than H(g). The
ionisation energy of H(g) is +1310 kJ mol-1 and H-(g) is +72 kJ mol-1. The shell being
full does not cause an increase in the ionisation energy.
7. The first ionisation energy decreases as you go from Li to Na because the

electron removed from Na is from the third shell rather than the second shell. The
nuclear charge has increased but this is counteracted by the increased shielding
from the full second shell. The student answer suggests they are from different
subshells, they are both from s subshells (2s and 3s), the crucial difference is the
shell they are in.
8. The first ionisation energy decreases as you go from Be to B because the electron
removed from B is from the p subshell as opposed to the s subshell in Be. The p
subshell is higher in energy, so the electron is easier to remove. An unpaired
electron would be harder to remove than a paired electron if everything else
was the same.
9. The first ionisation energy decreases as you go from N to O because the electron
removed from O is sharing an orbital (spin-paired) and therefore experiencing
more electron-electron repulsion than the unpaired electron in N. The electron
removed from O is from the same subshell as the electron in N.
The answer above is entirely appropriate for students at this level but teachers
who are interested might look at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hund%27s_rules#Rule_1 for a more in-depth
explanation.

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Education in Chemistry 16–18 years

Available from rsc.li/3mi1eui

© 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry 1

2. 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4

4. [Ar] 3d3 (4s0) or [Ar] 3d3

But not (although this is not commonly tested at this level):

© 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry 2

7. The first ionisation energy decreases as you go from Li to Na because the

© 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry 3

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