What I Know (Pre-Test)

Multiple Choice: Select the letter of the best answer from among the given choices.
Write it on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What does the flame test prove about the inner structure of atom?
A. The atom has a nucleus.
B. The nucleus is positively charged.
C. The electrons are found outside the nucleus.
D. The electrons carry discreet or fixed energy.
2. What happens to the energy of an electron as it goes farther from the nucleus?
A. Its energy increases.
B. Its energy decreases.
C. Its energy becomes fixed.
D. Its energy does not change.
3. Copper chloride when heated emits blue light. What is the origin of this blue light?
A. The nucleus radiates energy.
B. The electron loses energy as it moves around the nucleus.
C. The electron absorbs energy as it jumps to a higher energy level.
D. An excited electron loses energy as it returns to a lower energy level.
4. Which of the following energy levels can accommodate a maximum of 18
electrons?
A. 1st energy level
B. 2nd energy level
C. 3rd energy level
D. 4th energy level
5. An atom with 32 electrons has ______ energy levels.
A. 2 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
6. How many sublevels are in L energy level?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
7. How many atomic orbitals are in p sublevel?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
8. How many electrons can the d orbital holds?
A. 2 B. 6 C. 10 D. 14
9. Which of the given atomic orbitals is of higher energy?
A. 1s B. 2s C. 2p D. 3p
10. Which is the electron configuration of Oxygen (8e-)?
A. 1s22s22p6 B. 1s22s22p4 C. 1s22s32p3 D. 1s12s22p3

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 Lesson Electrons and Energy Level
1
What I Need to Know

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. determine the characteristic colors of light that metals emit.
2. relate colors of light emitted by metals to the structure of the atom.
3. infer that electrons can stay only in definite energy levels
4. identify the energy levels, sublevels, and atomic orbitals in an atom

What’s New

Photo illustrated by: Donnie Ray Obina

Striking display of fireworks is done all over the world during New Year’s Eve.
Have you observed the different colors of light emitted by this fireworks? Do you know
what is responsible for this array of colors? Would you believe that this is due to the
arrangement of electrons within the atoms? Excited to discover more about the atom?
Let’s go…
Firework effects are produced by the combustion of explosive materials present
in fireworks. These explosive materials are also called metal salts. Metal salts emit
characteristic color of light when heated as shown in the Table 1.
Metal salts Element giving color Color of flame
Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) Sodium (Na) Yellow
Barium Chloride (BaCl2) Barium (Ba) green
Barium Nitrate (Na2NO3) Barium (Ba) green
Calcium Chloride (Ca2Cl) Calcium (Ca) Orange
Copper Chloride (CuCl) Copper (Cu) Blue
Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3) Lithium (Li) red
Table 1. Color emitted of some metal salts and its element responsible for its color.
Analyze the information given in the table 1 and answer Q1 and Q2.

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Q1. What can you conclude about the elements and the color of flame produced?
Q2. If sodium nitrate is change to another salt of sodium, ex. Sodium chloride (table
salt), do you think the color of the flame would be the same or different? Why?

What Is It

Each color of light has a specific wavelength. Among the visible light, red light
has the longest wavelength and has the lowest energy. Violet light has the shortest
wavelength and has the highest energy.
When compounds of different elements are heated over a flame, it comes to a
point where the hot gaseous atom begins to emit light of a definite color. Analysis of
light given off by the vapors of elements can be done more precisely with an instrument
called spectroscope. With the use of spectroscope, one can detect a series of narrow
lines or line spectrum on the light given off by an element. The spectral lines suggest
different energy levels in an atom.

Atomic emission spectra

Photo illustrated by: Donnie Ray Obina

How did Neils Bohr explain the spectral lines of an element shown in the
spectroscope? Each line in the atomic spectra of elements suggest definite energy
transformations within the atom. Bohr stated that electrons are moving around the
nucleus in circular path or orbit at definite distances from the nucleus. This is similar
to the planets revolving around the sun. Electrons in each orbit have definite energy.
This energy increases as the distance of the orbit from the nucleus increases. These
orbits are also known as “shells” or “energy levels” and are assigned each a number:
n=1, n=2, n=3, etc. or letters (K, L, M, N, O, etc. ). As long as the electron stays in its
given orbit, there is no absorption or emission of energy. If the electron received extra
energy, it can jump into a higher energy level, this is also called excited state. The
electron in the excited state can return to its original lower energy level or ground
state by releasing discreet amount of energy in the form of light.

2
 Bohr’s atomic model can only describe atomic spectrum of an atom having only
one electron like that of hydrogen. An Austrian physicist, Erwin Schrodinger together
with Werner Heisenberg and Louis de Broglie made a refinement of Bohr’s atomic
model. Schrödinger used mathematical equations to describe the possibility of finding
an electron in a certain location this model is known as the quantum mechanical model
of the atom.

Based on the quantum mechanical model, it would be impossible to plot a

definite path or orbit for the moving electrons. At least, we can only guess the most
probable location of the electron in a given instant to be within a certain volume or
region of space surrounding the nucleus. An atomic orbital is the region around the
nucleus where the electron is most likely to be found. The atomic orbital serves as the
“house” of the electron. It can accommodate a maximum of 2 electrons.
Aside from the main energy levels and atomic orbitals, there are also energy
sublevels as shown by the finer lines in the atomic emission spectra of elements.

What’s More

This atomic model presented by Bohr is comparable to a staircase as shown

on the figure below. When you walk up or down the stairs your feet must hit the steps
not on the empty space between each steps, otherwise you will be in trouble until you
hit another step. The higher you climb the stairs; the more energy you need. Similarly,
the electrons can only stay in a definite energy level and not on the space between
energy levels. The further the energy level from the nucleus the higher the energy.

Photo illustrated by: Donnie Ray Obina

Activity 1. Refer to the illustration above to answer the questions below.

1. Similar with the electron, what does the man require to climb up the stairs?
2. When going up the stairs, is it possible to reach the top instantly? (represent
man as electron when explaining)
3. What happens to a person attempting to step on the next level with insufficient
energy? (represent man as electron when explaining)
4. Can electrons occupy any space between energy levels?

3
Activity 2

1. Complete the table below

Main Number and kind Number of kind of atomic Maximum

Energy of sublevels atomic orbitals number of
Levels (n) orbital electrons)
1 (K) 1 (s) 1 1s 2
1s
2 (L) 2 ( s and p) 4 8
3p
1s
3 (M) 3 (s, p, and d) 9 3p
5d
1s
3p
4 (N) 4 (s, p, d, and f) 16 32
5d
7f

5 (s, p, d, f, and
5 (O) 25 50
g)

1s
3p
5d
7f
9g
11 h

7 (Q) 98

4
 What I Have Learned

1. Illustrate the atomic model of the given elements.

e
e

e
e

Carbon (C) atom has 6 electrons Magnesium (Mg) atom has12 electrons

Beryllium (Be) atom has 4 electrons Chlorine (Cl) atom has 17 electrons

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 What I Can Do
Luksong tinik is one of our traditional games which originated in
Cabanatuan city. Why do players move farther from the barrier (tinik) as
the height increases before jumping?

Photo illustrated by: Donnie Ray Obina

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 Lesson Electron Configuration
2
What’s In

Matter is composed of atoms. Atoms are made up subatomic particles namely

protons, neutrons, and electrons. The position of electrons within the atoms plays a
vital role in the way atoms interact with one another to form compounds.
In lesson 1, you learned that electron can only stay at certain fixed distances
away from the nucleus. This position is called energy levels. Each energy levels
contain a certain number of sublevels. Every sublevel has fixed number of atomic
orbitals. This atomic orbital is the place where electrons are most probably found. The
electrons in the atomic orbital carries a definite amount of energy.
Tracking down the location of a given electron in an atom is similar to tracking
where a person lives. To find this person you need to know his complete home
address: City, Barangay, and house number. These corresponds to energy levels,
sublevels, and atomic orbitals in an atom.
In order to track where all the electrons in an atom are, chemists use notation
called electron configuration. This electron configuration is the most stable
arrangement in which the electrons have the lowest energy. An example of electron
configuration is 1s22s22p6 for neon atom. Do you know how this electron
configuration is obtained? You will find out in this lesson.

What I Need to Know

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. Determine the pattern of filling the atomic orbitals based on the given electron
distribution of the first 10 elements.
2. Write the electron configuration of the elements in the third period of the periodic
table.

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 What’s New

Table 1: Distribution of electrons in the atomic orbitals of the first 10 elements.

Electron
atomic orbitals
Elements Configuration
1s 2s 2px 2py 2pz 3s 3px 3py 3pz
H1 ↑ 1s1
He2 ↑↓ 1s2
Li3 ↑↓ ↑ 1s22s1
Be4 ↑↓ ↑↓ 1s22s2
B5 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ 1s22s22p1
C6 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ ↑ 1s22s22p2
N7 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ ↑ ↑ 1s22s22p3
O8 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ ↑ 1s22s22p4
F9 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ 1s22s22p5
Ne10 ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ 1s22s22p6

Q1. Do you see any pattern in the electron configuration of the elements?
Q2. What are these patterns?

What Is It

In the electron configuration of 1s2, 1 refers to the main energy level occupied
by the electron, s denotes the kind of orbital and the superscript 2 for the number of
electrons in the orbital. The main energy level also tells as the number of sublevels
and the name of the sublevel is also the same with the name of the orbital.

No. of e-
1s2
energy level orbital type

Three rules are applied in deriving the electron configuration. These are
Aufbau’s Principle, Pauli’s Exclusion Principle, and Hund’s rule of multiplicity.

1. Aufbau’s Principle is also known as the “building-up” principle, states that

electron's occupy orbitals in order of increasing energy.

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It follows this mnemonic in filling up the orbital:

1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s 8s

2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p

3d 4d 5d 6d

4f 5f
Example:
Write the electron configuration of
1. Li-3
Li-3: 1s2 2s1

2. Na-11
Na-11: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1
2. Pauli’s Exclusion Principle
Electrons occupying the same orbital must have opposite spin ↑↓.

Example:
1. Consider the electron configuration of Lithium: 1s2 2s1

Orbital diagram:

not
1s 2s 1s 2s

2. Consider the electron configuration of Sodium: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1

Orbital diagram:

____ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____

1s 2s 2px 2py 2pz 3s

3. Hund’s rule of Multiplicity

When electrons enter a sublevel with more than one orbital, they will spread
out to the available orbitals with the same spin before pairing.
Example:

Consider the electron configuration of Nitrogen: 1s2 2s2 2p3

Orbital diagram:

N-7: ___ ____ ____ ___ __

1s 2s 2px 2py 2pz

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 What’s More

Write the electron configuration of the elements and show the orbital diagram
using the Hund’s Rule and Pauli’s Principle.

Elements Orbital Diagram Electron Configuration

↑↓ ↑↓
Be4 1s2 2s2
1s 2s
Mg12

Al13

Si14

P15

What I Have Learned

1. Which statement is NOT correct for an atom with an electron configuration of

1s22s22p63s23p5?
A. It has 17 electrons
B. It has 3 main energy levels.
C. The 3p orbitals are completely field.
D. The s orbitals are completely filled.
2. Which electron configuration below is correct?
A. 1s22s22p53s23p6
B. 1s22p63s23p3
C. 1s22s23s22p63p4
D. 1s22s22p63s23p4
3. Which is the correct configuration of P15 using the Hund’s Rule.
A. 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px2 3py1 3pz
B. 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px1 3py1 3pz1
C. 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px1 3py1 3pz 4s1
D. 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px1 3py 3pz1 4s1
4. Write the electron configuration of Ca20 and show its orbital diagram.

Elements Orbital Diagram Electron Configuration

Ca20

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 What I Can Do

Suppose you are eating your favorite snack. What are the elements present in
your snack? List five (5) elements present in your snack and make an element card
with electron configuration. Use short bond paper and cut into four for your card.

Sample element card

1s22s22p23s1

Summary

• Bohr’s atomic model describes the atom like a solar system, where the electron is
found only in specific circular paths, or orbits around the nucleus. Electrons in each
orbit has fixed energy.

• An electron can jump to a higher energy level by gaining energy and returns to a
lower energy level by releasing energy in the form of light.

• The Bohr model was later replaced by a model of the atom that showed that
electrons are not limited to fixed orbits around the nucleus.

• Schrodinger formulated a mathematical equation that describes the behavior of the

electron. The solution to the equation is used to calculate the probability of finding
the electron at a particular region in space around the nucleus called atomic orbital.

• The quantum mechanical model of the atom describes the atom as having a
nucleus at the center around which the electrons move. This model describes a
region in space where the electron is most likely to be found.

• The distribution of electrons in the different atomic orbitals is called electron

configuration.

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 Assessment: (Post-Test)

A. Multiple Choice: Select the letter of the best answer from among the given
choices. Write it on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Which statement below supports the Bohr’s model of the atom?

A. The model accounted for the absorption spectra of atoms but not for the
emission spectra.
B. The model was accounted for describing the electron to be moving in definite
orbits around the nucleus.
C. The model was based on the wave properties of the electron.
D. The model accounted for the emission spectra of atoms, but not for the
absorption spectra.
2. Which orbital designation has the highest energy?
A. 2p B. 3p C.3d D. 4s
3. What happens when an electron jumps from higher to lower energy level?
A. colored light is given off
B. the atom becomes excited
C. another electron goes from a low energy level to a high one
D. this process is not possible
4. Who among the scientist does not contribute to the development of the quantum
mechanical model of the atom?
A. Werner Karl Heisenberg B. Louie de Broglie
C. Erwin Schrodinger D. Neils Bohr
5. How many electrons can each p orbital hold?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 4 D.6

B. Shown here are the orbital configurations for the elements named. Each
configuration is incorrect in some way. Identify the error in each and write the correct
configuration.

6. Aluminum-13 : 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3d11

7. Chlorine-17 : 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px2 3py2 4s1
8. Neon-10 : 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz1 3s1
9. Potassium-19: : 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py2 2pz2 3s2 3px2 3py2 3pz2 3d11
10. Nitrogen-7 : 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py1