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Chapter 3: Problem 41

How many orbitals are completely filled in an atom of an element whose atomic number is 18?

Short Answer

Expert verified
There are 5 completely filled orbitals in an atom of an element whose atomic number is 18.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding atomic structure

In an atom, electrons are contained in space called orbitals. Each orbital can hold up to two electrons. The orbitals are filled according to the following sequence: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p and so on.
02

Applying electron filling rule

Elementary atomic number 18 means this atom has 18 electrons. The filling sequence would be: \n1s^2 (2 electrons), 2s^2 (2 electrons), 2p^6 (6 electrons), 3s^2 (2 electrons), 3p^6 (6 electrons).\nAdding these up we get a total of 18 electrons, which matches with the atomic number of the given element.
03

Counting completely filled orbitals

According to the filling sequence, the completely filled orbitals are: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s and 3p. That's a total of 5 orbitals.

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How many orbitals in an atom can have the following designation? \begin{equation} \begin{array}{l}{\text { a. } 4 p} \\ {\text { b. } 7 s} \\ {\text { c. } 5 d}\end{array} \end{equation}
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