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Chapter 8: Problem 13

Write the outer electron contigurations for (a) the alkali metals, (b) the alkaline earth metals, (c) the halogens, (d) the noble gases.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The outer electron configurations for (a) alkali metals is \(n^1\), (b) alkaline earth metals is \(n^2\), (c) halogens is \(n^7\), and (d) noble gases is \(n^8\) or \(n^2\, n^8\) with exception of helium which is \(1^2\).

Step by step solution

01

Alkali metals electron configuration

Alkali metals are in group 1 of the periodic table. Therefore, they have a single electron in their outermost energy level. So, the outer electron configuration can be written as \(n^1\) where 'n' refers to the energy level.
02

Alkaline earth metals electron configuration

Alkaline earth metals are positioned in group 2 of the periodic table. This indicates that they have two electrons in their outermost energy level. The outer electron configuration is written as \(n^2\) where 'n' represents the energy level.
03

Halogens electron configuration

Halogens are situated in group 17 of the periodic table. They each have seven electrons in their outer energy level. Therefore, their outer electron configuration is represented as \(n^7\) where 'n' refers to the energy level.
04

Noble gases electron configuration

Noble gases can be found in group 18 of the periodic table. They have a complete octet in their outermost energy level, meaning they possess eight electrons. Thus, the outer electron configuration is denoted as \(n^8\) or \(n^2\, n^8\) (excluding helium which is \(1^2\)) where 'n' denotes the energy level.

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