To show the electron configuration for an atom, when would it be better to use an orbital notation than to use a written configu
ration with numbers, letters, and superscripts? when the aim is to show orbital shapes in subshells
when the aim is to show electron distributions in shells
The answer is: when the aim is to show electron distributions in shells
An orbital notation is more appropriate if you want to show how the electrons of an atom are distributed in each subshell. This is because there are some atoms that have special electronic configurations that aren't obvious in just written configurations.
