Question

One reason spectroscopists study excited states is to gain information about the energies of orbitals that are unoccupied in an atom’s ground state. Each of the following electron configurations represents an atom in an excited state. Identify the element, and write its condensed ground-state configuration:
(a) 1s²2s²2p⁶3s¹3p¹
(b) 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁴4s¹
(c) 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d⁴4p¹
(d) 1s²2s²2p⁵3s¹

Answer 1

Answer:

a) Mg

b) Cl

c) Mn

d) Ne

Explanation:

This electron configuration for the atom in its excited state violates the Aufbau principle or rule like we have above.

Aufbau principle states "that in the ground state of an atom or ion, electrons fill atomic orbitals of the lowest available energy levels before occupying higher levels."

We however can know and identify which element is in the excited state by knowing the sum of the electron that spread across the orbital and matching it up with the atomic number of the element in the periodic table.