Question

Which atom has the smallest valence p atomic orbital carbon nitrogen sulfur?

Answer 1

Looking for the atom which has the smallest valence p atomic orbital among the choices (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur) requires one to look at a periodic table with electron configurations. The answer is carbon. It's p orbital only has 2 electrons. (Full configuration of carbon: 1s2 2s2 2p2) (Nitrogen has 2p3 while sulfur has 2p4.)