Worksheet: Quantum Numbers in Chemistry

Name of team members

Instructions: Fill in the blanks and answer the questions below to test your
understanding of quantum numbers.

Part A: Quantum Numbers Basics

1. Principal Quantum Number (n): a. It represents the ____________ energy

level of an electron in an atom. b. The value of 'n' must be a ____________
integer (whole number).
2. Angular Momentum Quantum Number (l): a. It is also known as the
____________ quantum number. b. It specifies the ____________ of an electron's
orbital. c. The possible values for 'l' range from ____________ to (n-1).
3. Magnetic Quantum Number (ml): a. It describes the ____________ of an
electron within an orbital. b. The range of 'ml' values for a given 'l' is from
____________ to ____________.
4. Spin Quantum Number (ms): a. It describes the ____________ of an
electron's spin. b. 'ms' can have two values: ____________ and ____________.

Part B: Quantum Numbers Practice

5. For an electron in the third energy level (n = 3): a. What are the possible
values for 'l'? ____________ b. What are the possible values for 'ml' when 'l' is
equal to 1? ____________
6. If an electron has the quantum numbers n = 4, l = 2, ml = 1, what is its
orientation in space? ____________
7. How many orbitals are there in the 4th energy level (n = 4)? ____________
8. If an electron has the quantum numbers n = 2, l = 0, ml = 0, what is its
principal quantum number? ____________
 Part C: Quantum Numbers and Electron Configuration

9. Write the electron configuration for the element with atomic number 8
(oxygen) using quantum numbers.
10. In the electron configuration of sulfur (atomic number 16), how many
electrons are in the 3p orbitals? ____________

Part D: Quantum Numbers and Periodic Table

11. Which subshell(s) correspond to the following quantum numbers? a. n = 1, l

= 0 ____________ b. n = 3, l = 2 ____________ c. n = 4, l = 1 ____________
12. Which element(s) on the periodic table have the following electron
configuration? a. 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹ ____________ b. 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s²
3p⁶ ____________

Part E: Electron Spin and Hund's Rule

13. According to Hund's Rule, how should electrons fill the orbitals within a
subshell before pairing up?
14. If you have an orbital with two electrons, what must be the spin quantum
numbers (ms) for each electron according to the Pauli Exclusion Principle?

Part F: True or False

15. Circle whether each statement is true or false.

a. The principal quantum number (n) can be any positive real number.
(True/False)
b. The magnetic quantum number (ml) represents the orientation of an
orbital in space. (True/False)
c. An orbital can hold a maximum of four electrons with the same set of
quantum numbers. (True/False)

Bonus Question: Calculate the total number of electrons occupying an

atom's 4th energy level (n = 4).

Answers:
Atomic Structure-Quantum Numbers -Practice Questions

1. An electron has the following set of quantum numbers; n = 4 , l = 1 , m = 0 and s =

+1/2.
In which of the following orbitals would this electron be found?

a) 4s b) 4px c) 4d3 d) 4f5 e) none of these

2. Which of the following sets of quantum numbers is not possible?

a) n = 3, l = 0, m = 0, s = +1/2
b) n = 5, l = 3, m = 0, s = +1/2
c) n = 5, l = 3, m = -1 s = -1/2
d) n = 4, l = 3, m = -3, s = -1/2
e) n = 4, l = 4, m = +2, s = -1/2

3. Which of the following subshells has room for a maximum of 10 electrons?

a) 4p b) 6p c) 3s d) 4f e) 5d

4. The maximum number of electrons at n = 2 is

a) 2 b) 4 c) 8 d) 18 e) 32

5. The number of orbitals available at n = 4 is

a) 4 b) 8 c) 16 d) 32 e) none of these

6. The number of 'p' orbitals in each energy level above the first is

a) 1 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5 e) 6

7. Which is not true of the 'p' orbitals?

a) they are dumbbell shaped b) they are oriented about 3 axes

c) they are found in all energy levels d) they may contain a total of 6
electrons
e) they represent a region of probability of finding an electron
8. A '1s' orbital has a shape that

a) concentrates electron density around the nucleus with points of equal electron
density at equal distances from the nucleus
b) places all the electron density in one 'lobe' that is located on one side of the
nucleus
c) spreads the electron density uniformly over the entire volume of the atom
d) places electron density in six 'lobes' that lie along an imaginary set of x, y, z
coordinate axes
e) cannot be described with pictures

9. What is the total number of electrons in the 2p sublevel of a chlorine atom in the
ground state?

a) 6 b) 2 c) 3 d) 5 e) 8

10. In modern chemical theory, an occupied orbital is pictured to be

a) a spherical or dumbell-shaped route traced by the electron in its rapid movement

b) a region in space having a precise shape, which is completely filled by a dense electron
cloud
c) a region in space in which the probability of finding an electron is high
d) an elliptical pathway, outside the nucleus, followed by an electron
e) an electron at a specific distance from the nucleus
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. The value of Azimuthal quantum number for all the electrons in the 5p orbital is
a. 4 b. 5 c. 2 d.1

2. Among the various quantum numbers (n, l, m, s) describing an electron, which can have the largest value?
a. Principal Quantum number b. Azimuthal Quantum number
c. Magnetic Quantum number d. Spin Quantum number

3. Which of the following orbitals are not possible

a. 2d b.4f c. 6d d. 3g

4. The maximum number of electrons in a subshell for which l = 3 is

a. 14 b. 10
c. 8 d. 4

5. What are the values of n and l for 2p orbital?

a. n= 1, l=1 b. n=2, l=2

c. n=2, l=1 d. n= 3, l=2

6. If the largest value of m for an electron is +2, then the electron may be present in what type of sub shell?

a. s subshell b. d subshell
c. p subshell d. f subshell

7. An electron has spin quantum number ms = +1/2 and magnetic quantum number ml = +1. It cannot be present
in
a. s orbital b. p orbital
c. d orbital d. f orbital
8. How many unpaired electrons are present in Ni2+?

a. 8 b. 3
c. 2 d. 0

9. The number of radial nodes in 3s and 2p respectively are

a. 2 and 0 b. 1 and 2
c. 0 and 2 d. 2 and 1

10. Which one of the following pairs of ions have the same electronic configuration?
a. Cr3+, Fe3+ b. Fe3+, Mn2+
c. Fe3+, Co3+ d. Sc3+, Cr3+

Assertion- Reasoning Questions

(A) Both assertion and reason are correct statements, and reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.
(B) Both assertion and reason are correct statements, but reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
(C) Assertion is correct, but reason is wrong statement.
(D) Assertion is wrong, but reason is correct statement.

1. Assertion (A): It is impossible to determine the exact position and exact momentum of an electron
simultaneously.

Reason (R): The path of an electron in an atom is clearly defined.

2. Assertion (A): The 19th electron in Potassium atom enters into 4 s orbital ad not in the 3d orbital.
Reason (R): (n+l) rule is followed for determining the orbit of lowest energy state.

3. Assertion (A): The energy of an electron is largely determined by the principal quantum number.
Reason (R): The principal quantum number is a measure of the probable distance of finding the electron
around the nucleus.

4. Assertion: For the outermost electron in Na atom the orbital angular momentum is zero.
Reason: For 3s electron=0 and orbital angular momentum is 0.

5. Assertion: The configuration of C cannot be 1s2,2s2,2px2

Reason: According to Pauli’s exclusion principle an orbital can have maximum of two electrons.

6. Assertion: Cl- ions and K+ ions are isoelectronic

Reason: Isoelectronic ions have same charge
 7. Assertion: Number of orbitals in 3rd shell is 9.
Reason: Number of orbitals for a particular value of n = n2

Passage based MCQs

Passage 1
The position and energy of an electron is specified with the help of four quantum numbers namely principal
quantum number, azimuthal quantum number, magnetic quantum number and spin quantum number. The
permissible values of these are:
n=1, 2……….
l= 0, 1, 2… (n-1)
ml = -l ….0 ……. +l
ms = +1/2 and -1/2
The electrons having the same value of n, l and ml are said to belong to the same orbital. According to Pauli’s
exclusion principle, an orbital can have maximum of two electrons and these must have opposite spin.

1. For an electron having n=3, l=0, the orbital angular momentum quantum number is
(a) √3h/π (b) √6h/2π (c) Zero (d) 8√3h/π

2. Which of the following statements is not correct?

(a) For Sodium, the outermost electron has n=3, l=0, ml=0, ms=+1/2
(b) The orbitals having n=3, l=2, ml=+2 and n=3, l=2, ml=-2 have same energies
(c) For 4f electron, n=4, l=3, ml=0, s=+1/2 is not possible
(d) The orbitals 2d,3f and 4g are not possible

Passage II

The atomic number of Chromium is 24.Its electronic configuration in ground state is [Ar] 3d⁵ 4s¹ Chromium atom
loses 3 electrons to form Cr3+ ions.

1. The number of unpaired electrons in Cr3+ ions is

(a) 3 (b) 6 (c) 1 (d) 5
2. The number of electrons having n=3 and ml =0 in Chromium atom is
(a) 2 (b) 5 (c) 4 (d) 1
3. The number of occupied subshells in Cr3+ ion is
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6