Answer Key
Name: Harley Small Date: 12-04-2022 Student Exploration: Electron Configuration Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions andprompts in the orange boxes. Vocabulary: atomic number, atomic radius, Aufbau principle, chemical family, diagonal rule, electron configuration, Hund’s rule, orbital, Pauli exclusion principle, period, shell, spin, subshell Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. Elvis Perkins, a rather shy fellow, is getting on the bus shown at right. Which seat do you think he will probably sit in? Mark this seat with an “E.” E-> 2. Marta Warren gets on the bus after Elvis. She is tired after a long day at work. Where do you think she will sit? Mark this seat with an “M.” M-> 3. In your experience, do strangers getting on a bus like to sit with other people if there is an empty seat available? No Gizmo Warm-up Just like passengers getting on a bus, electrons orbit the nuclei of atoms in particular patterns. You willdiscover these patterns (and how electrons sometimes act like passengers boarding a bus) with the Electron Configuration Gizmo. To begin, check that Lithium is selected on the PERIODIC TABLE tab. 1. The atomic number is equal to the number of protons in an atom. How many protons are in a lithium atom? 3 2. A neutral atom has the same number of electrons and protons. How many electrons are in a neutral lithium atom? 3 Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
3. Select the ELECTRON CONFIGURATION tab, and check that Energy is selected. Click twice in the 1s box at lower left and once in the 2s box. Observe the atom model at right. A. What do you see? Two electrons in the first ring and one in the second B. Click Check . Is this electron configuration correct? Yes Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity A: Small atoms Get the Gizmo ready: ● On the PERIODIC TABLE tab, select H (hydrogen). ● Select the ELECTRON CONFIGURATION tab.● Click Reset . Introduction: Electrons are arranged in orbitals , subshells , and shells . These levels of organization are shown by the boxes of the Gizmo. Each box represents an orbital. The subshells are labeled with letters ( s , p , d , and f ) and the shells are labeled with numbers. Question: How are electrons arranged in elements with atomic numbers 1 through 10? 1. Arrange: The Aufbau principle states that electrons occupy the lowest-energy orbital. When Energy is selected, the orbitals are arranged from lowest-energy at the bottom to highest-energy at the top. Clickonce in the 1s box to add an electron to the only orbital in the s subshell of the first shell. Click Check . What is the electron configuration of hydrogen? 1s1 2. Arrange: Click Next element to select helium. Add another electron to the 1s orbital. The arrows represent the spin of the electron. What do you notice about the arrows? Goes in opposite directions The Pauli exclusion principle states that electrons sharing an orbital have opposite spins. 3. Check your work: Click Check . What is the electron configuration of helium? 1s2 4. Arrange: Click Next element and create electron configurations for lithium, beryllium, and boron. Click Check to check your work, and then list each configuration below: Lithium: 1s2 2s1 Beryllium: 1s2 2s2 Boron: 1s2 2s2 1p1 5. Arrange: Click Next element to select carbon. Add a second electron to the first 2p orbital. Click Check . What feedback is given? Not in the proper spot. 6. Rearrange: Hund’s rule states that electrons will occupy an empty orbital when it is available in that subshell. Rearrange the electrons within the 2p subshell and click Check . Is the configuration correct now? Yes ✏ Show the correct configuration in the boxes at right: Hand draw in this space or click here to select EDIT to use the drawing tool Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
7. Compare: How are the electrons in the 2p subshell similar to passengers getting on a bus? Prefer not to sit next to one another if they can avoid it. 8. Practice: In the spaces below, ✏ write and illustrate electron configurations for the next four elements: nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and neon. When you are finished, use the Gizmo to check your work. Correctany improper configurations. Nitrogen configuration: 1s2 2s2 1p3 Oxygen configuration: 1s2 2s2 1p4 Fluorine configuration: 1s2 2s2 1p5 Neon configuration: 1s2 2s2 1p6 9. Apply: Atoms are most stable when their outermost shell is full. If their outermost shell is not full, atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons until the shell fills up. While doing this, atoms react and form chemicalbonds with other atoms. Based on this, what can you infer about the reactivity of helium and neon? Since neon has entire shells, it reacts less violently than helium. 10. Think and discuss: Select the PERIODIC TABLE tab, and look at the second row, or period , of the table. How does this row reflect the subshells of the second shell? The energy level can only accommodate 8 elements and 8 electrons. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity B: Atomic radii Get the Gizmo ready: ● On the PERIODIC TABLE tab, select Na (sodium). ● Select the ELECTRON CONFIGURATION tab. Question: How do the radii of atoms change across a period of the periodic table? 1. Predict: Positively charged protons in the nucleus of an atom are attracted to negatively charged electrons. How do you think the atomic radii will change as electrons are added to a shell? Alkali metals are 2. Arrange: Create a proper electron configuration for sodium. After clicking Check , note the Electron configuration and the Atomic radius now listed at right. Sodium electron configuration: 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s1 Atomic radius: 190 picometers 3. Compare: Click Next element , and then add an electron to the magnesium atom. Click check, and record the electron configuration and atomic radius below. Magnesium electron configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 Atomic radius: 145 picometers 4. Gather data: Create electron configurations for the next six elements. Record the electron configuration and atomic radius of each. (Note: The symbol for picometer is pm .) Element Number of electrons Electron configuration Atomic radius (pm) Aluminum 13 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1 118 Silicon 14 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2 111 Phosphorus 15 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3 98 Sulfur 16 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4 88 Chlorine 17 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p5 79 Argon 18 1s1 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 71 5. Analyze: How does the atomic radius change across a period of the periodic table? As you descend and the number of electrons rises, the number of energy levels increases. 6. Interpret: Select the ATOMIC RADIUS tab. What do you notice? The radius is shrinking. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
7. Predict: On the ATOMIC RADIUS tab click Clear . Select the PERIODIC TABLE tab. Elements in the same column of the periodic table are called chemical families , or groups. How do you think the size of atoms will change from top to bottom within a chemical family? Get bigger 8. Test: Hydrogen, lithium, and sodium are all in the same chemical family. Use the Gizmo to find the atomic radius of each, and list them below. Hydrogen radius: 53 Lithium radius: 167 Sodium radius: 190 9. Analyze: How does the atomic radius change as you go from the top to the bottom of a chemical family? The new energy levels cause the radius to increase while decreasing a group, and the nucleuscan pull electrons to it. 10. Challenge: Think about the factors that control atomic radius and the patterns you’ve seen. A. Why does the atomic radius decrease as electrons are added to a shell? When the radius is smaller, the electrons are nearer the nucleus and more difficult to separate. B. Why does the atomic radius increase as you go from the top to the bottom of a chemical family? Energy level are farther away 11. Think and discuss: Compare the electron configurations of hydrogen, lithium, and sodium. Why do you think these elements are grouped in the same family? Have 2 electron in the outside and share Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity C: The diagonal rule Get the Gizmo ready: ● On the PERIODIC TABLE tab, select Ar (argon). ● Select the ELECTRON CONFIGURATION tab.● Turn on Show number of electrons . Question: How are the electron configurations of elements beyond argon determined? 1. Arrange: Create the correct electron configuration for argon. Then, click Next element to get to potassium (K). Click once in the first 3d orbital, and then click Check . What feedback is given? Electron placement is incorrect. 2. Rearrange: The 4 s subshell is a lower-energy subshell than 3 d , so it is filled first. Remove the electron from the 3d orbital and place it in the 4s orbital. Click Check . (Note: For simplicity, all but the outer shell electrons will disappear on the Bohr Model .) Is this configuration correct? Yes What is the configuration? 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3. Arrange: Click Next element and add an electron for calcium. Click Check . What is the electron configuration for calcium? 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 4. Arrange: Click Next element and add an electron for scandium. Try different orbitals until you find the right one. What is the configuration for scandium? 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3s2 3p6 3d1 4s1 5. Observe: Scandium is the first element to contain electrons in the d subshell. How many orbitals does the d subshell have, and how many electrons can fit in the d subshell? 5 and 10 6. Infer: Select the PERIODIC TABLE tab. The middle section of the table contains ten groups that make up the transition metals. Why do you think this section is ten columns wide? It holds 10 Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
7. Observe: Select the ELECTRON CONFIGURATION tab. Make sure the subshells are ordered by Energy , which will arrange them from lowest to highest energy, bottom to top. Based on what you see, in what order do you think subshells will be filled? 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p 8. Make a rule: Next to Subshells ordered by , select Number . The diagonal rule at right shows which subshell will be filled next. To follow the rule, move down along an arrow until youreach the end of the arrow. Then move to the start of the nextarrow to the right. A. Which subshell is filled after 4 p ? 5s B. Which subshell is filled after 6 s ? 4f C. Which subshell is filled after 5 d ? 6p 9. Practice: Determine the electron configurations of the following elements. Use the Gizmo to check your work. (Note: In some cases, the diagonal rule doesn’t work perfectly. If you submit a theoretically correctconfiguration, the Gizmo will give you the actual configuration.) Element Atomic number Electron configuration Cobalt (Co) 27 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3d7 4s2 Germanium (Ge) 32 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3d7 4s2 4p2 Neodymium (Nd) 60 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3d7 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f4 5s2 Gold (Au) 79 1s2 2s2 2p2 3s2 3p6 3d7 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f4 5s2 10. Infer: Select the PERIODIC TABLE tab. Earlier you saw that the transition metals represent the filling of the d subshells. Now locate the purple lanthanides and actinides on the bottom rows of the periodic table. A. How many elements are in the lanthanides series? 14 B. Which subshell is represented by the lanthanides series? f C. Which subshell is represented by the actinides series? f D. In general, how does the shape of the periodic table relate to electron configuration? The identical valance electron combinations are present in each column. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Electron Configuration Gizmo Answer Key
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