Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 2: Problem 101

A certain oxygen atom has the electron configuration \(1 s^{2} 2 s^{2} 2 p_{x}^{2} 2 p_{y}^{2} .\) How many unpaired electrons are present? Is this an excited state of oxygen? In going from this state to the ground state, would energy be released or absorbed?

Short Answer

Expert verified
There are 0 unpaired electrons in the given oxygen atom's electron configuration, which is an excited state. When transitioning from this excited state to the ground state, energy would be released.

Step by step solution

01

Recap the electron configuration rules

Atoms fill their electron orbitals following three rules: 1. Aufbau Principle: Electrons fill the lowest energy level orbitals available first. 2. Pauli Exclusion Principle: Each orbital can contain at most two electrons with opposite spins. 3. Hund's Rule: When filling degenerate orbitals (orbitals with the same energy), electrons are distributed to maximize the number of unpaired electrons before electrons begin to pair up in orbitals.
02

Analyze the given electron configuration

The given electron configuration for the oxygen atom is: \(1s^2 2s^2 2p_x^2 2p_y^2\) This means there are 2 electrons in the 1s orbital, 2 electrons in the 2s orbital, and 4 electrons distributed between the 2px and 2py orbitals.
03

Determine the number of unpaired electrons

The given electron configuration shows that all electrons in the orbitals are paired, as there are no unpaired electrons in the 1s, 2s, or 2p orbitals. Thus, there are 0 unpaired electrons in the atom.
04

Determine if the given configuration is the ground state or an excited state

A ground state configuration is when the electrons are in the lowest energy level possible. For an oxygen atom, which has 8 electrons, the ground state configuration should be \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^4\). Comparing this to the given configuration: Given: \(1s^2 2s^2 2p_x^2 2p_y^2\) Ground State: \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^4\) The given configuration does not match the ground state configuration. Specifically, the given configuration has spread the 4 2p electrons between the 2px and 2py orbitals only, not considering the 2pz orbital, thus violating Hund's Rule. This means that the given configuration is an excited state.
05

Determine if energy is released or absorbed in going from this state to the ground state

When an atom transitions from an excited state to a ground state, it releases energy. This is because the electrons in the excited state are at a higher energy level than the ground state, so as they return to their lowest energy level, the excess energy is emitted. In this case, energy would be released when the oxygen atom transitions from the given electron configuration to its ground state configuration.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

X rays have wavelengths on the order of \(1 \times 10^{-10} \mathrm{m}\). Calculate the energy of \(1.0 \times 10^{-10} \mathrm{m}\) X rays in units of kilojoules per mole of X rays. (1 mol X rays \(=6.022 \times 10^{23}\) X rays.) AM radio waves have wavelengths on the order of \(1 \times 10^{4} \mathrm{m}\). Calculate the energy of \(1.0 \times 10^{4} \mathrm{m}\) radio waves in units of kilojoules per mole of radio waves. Consider that the bond energy of a carbon- carbon single bond found in organic compounds is 347 kJ/mol. Would X rays and/or radio waves be able to disrupt organic compounds by breaking carbon- carbon single bonds?

Given the valence electron orbital level diagram and the description, identify the element or ion. a. A ground state atom b. An atom in an excited state (assume two electrons occupy the \(1 s\) orbital) c. A ground state ion with a charge of -1

Identify how many unpaired electrons are present in each of the following in the ground state: \(\mathrm{O}, \mathrm{O}^{+}, \mathrm{O}^{-}, \mathrm{Os}, \mathrm{Zr}, \mathrm{S}, \mathrm{F}, \mathrm{Ar}\).

Element 106 has been named seaborgium, \(\mathrm{Sg}\), in honor of Glenn Seaborg, discoverer of the first transuranium element. a. Write the expected electron configuration for element 106 b. What other element would be most like element 106 in its properties?

The ionization energy for a \(1 s\) electron in a silver atom is \(2.462 \times 10^{6} \mathrm{kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) a. Determine an approximate value for \(Z_{\text {eff }}\) for the Ag \(1 s\) electron. Assume the Bohr model applies to the 1 s electron. \(Z_{\mathrm{eff}}\) is the apparent nuclear charge experienced by the electrons. b. How does \(Z_{\text {eff }}\) from part a compare to \(Z\) for Ag? Rationalize the relative numbers.
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

The Earths Atmosphere

Read Explanation

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

Organic Chemistry

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation

Kinetics

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free