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This page shows the electron configurations of the neutral gaseous atoms in their ground states. For each atom the subshells are given first in concise form, then with all subshells written out, followed by the number of electrons per shell. For phosphorus (element 15) as an example, the concise form is [Ne] 3s 2 3p 3.
The configuration that corresponds to the lowest electronic energy is called the ground state. Any other configuration is an excited state. As an example, the ground state configuration of the sodium atom is 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 1, as deduced from the Aufbau principle (see below).
The rule then predicts the electron configuration 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 3d 9 4s 2, abbreviated [Ar] 3d 9 4s 2 where [Ar] denotes the configuration of argon, the preceding noble gas. However, the measured electron configuration of the copper atom is [Ar] 3d 10 4s 1. By filling the 3d subshell, copper can be in a lower energy state.
Energy levels for an electron in an atom: ground state and excited states. After absorbing energy , an electron may jump from the ground state to a higher-energy excited state. The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy ; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system.
Neutral atoms of the chemical elements have the same term symbol for each column in the s-block and p-block elements, but differ in d-block and f-block elements where the ground-state electron configuration changes within a column, where exceptions to Hund's rules occur. Ground state term symbols for the chemical elements are given below.
The lightest atom that requires the second rule to determine the ground state term is titanium (Ti, Z = 22) with electron configuration 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 3d 2 4s 2. In this case the open shell is 3d 2 and the allowed terms include three singlets ( 1 S, 1 D, and 1 G) and two triplets ( 3 P and 3 F).
Configurations of elements 109 and above are not available. Predictions from reliable sources have been used for these elements. Grayed out electron numbers indicate subshells filled to their maximum. Bracketed noble gas symbols on the left represent inner configurations that are the same in each period. Written out, these are: He, 2, helium : 1s 2
This notation is used to specify electron configurations and to create the term symbol for the electron states in a multi-electron atom. When writing a term symbol, the above scheme for a single electron's orbital quantum number is applied to the total orbital angular momentum associated to an electron state. [4]