Electronic

Structure of Atoms
GUIA EMARY ENERO
SHERLYN VERDEFLOR
ERIC DUMA-OG
JOHN MARK JABAGATON
JUNIE LAURENTE
YELLOW GROUP
 Session Objectives
At the end of the session, the learners should be able
to:
• describe the quantum mechanical model of the atom
• describe the electronic structure of atoms in terms
of main energy levels, sublevels, and orbitals, and
relate this to energy
• write the electronic configuration of atoms
• determine the magnetic property of the atom based
on its electronic configuration
• draw an orbital diagram to represent the electronic
configuration of atoms
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 Lecture Proper
• Quantum Mechanical Description of Atom
• Schrodinger’s model of the hydrogen atom and
wave functions
• Main energy levels, sublevels and orbitals
• Quantum Numbers
• Electronic Configuration
• Pauli Exclusion Principle
• Aufbau Principle
• Hund’s Rule
• Diamagnetism and Paramagnetism
• Orbital Diagrams
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 Quantum Mechanical
Model
Louis de Broglie
(1892–1987)
hypothesized that
particles, including
electrons, could
also have wavelike
behaviors
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 Quantum Mechanical
Model

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that it is

fundamentally impossible to know precisely both the
momentum and position of a particle at the same time.
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 Quantum Mechanical
Model

The only quantity that can be known

is the probability for an electron to
occupy a certain region around the
nucleus.

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Schrodinger’s model of the hydrogen atom and wave
functions

 In 1926, Erwin Schrodinger, an Austrian physicist,

formulated a mathematical equation that describes
the behavior and energies of submicroscopic
particles. The Schrodinger equation incorporates
particle behavior and wave behavior, treating the
electron as a standing wave. The solution to the
Schrodinger equation is a wave function called ψ
(psi). The wave functions are also called atomic
orbitals (as distinguished from the Bohr orbits).
 Schrodinger’s model of the
hydrogen atom and wave functions

 Schrödinger treated electrons as waves in a

model called the quantum mechanical
model of the atom.
 Schrödinger’s equation applied equally
well to elements other than hydrogen
(unlike Bohr’s model).

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Schrodinger’s model of the hydrogen atom and wave
functions

 It is not possible to pinpoint the exact

location of the electron in an atom but
ψ2 gives the region where it can most
probably be found. The electron density
gives the probability that the electron
will be found in a particular region of an
atom.
 Schrodinger’s model of the
hydrogen atom and wave functions
 Orbitals are different from orbits in that they
represent probability maps that show a
statistical distribution of where the electron is
likely to be found.
 QUANTUM NUMBERS
Principal Quantum Number, n

 Energy sublevels are contained within the principal

energy levels.
 QUANTUM NUMBERS
Each energy sublevel relates to orbitals
of different shape

s, p, d, f

s, p, d
s, p
s
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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
Azimuthal Quantum Number, l
(Angular Momentum)

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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
Magnetic Quantum Number, l

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QUANTUM NUMBERS

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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
All s orbitals are spherical, and their
s sublevel: size increases with increasing principal
quantum number.

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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
The three p orbitals are dumbbell-
p sublevel: shaped and are oriented along the
three perpendicular x, y and z axes.

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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
Four of the five d orbitals have the
• d sublevel: same shape but lie in different planes.
The orbital has its own unique shape.

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 QUANTUM NUMBERS
• f sublevel:

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General energy ordering of orbitals for a
many-electron atom:

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SPIN QUANTUM NUMBER, ms
• In the 1920s, it was discovered
that two electrons in the same
orbital do not have exactly the
same energy.
• The “spin” of an electron
describes its magnetic field, which
affects its energy.
• This led to a fourth quantum
number, the spin quantum
number, ms.
• The spin quantum number has
only 2 allowed values: +1/2 and
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principal

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 THE QUANTUM NUMBERS AND THE
CORRESPONDING ATOMIC ORBITALS
 The quantum numbers and corresponding atomic orbitals
are given in the following table.
 ELECTRON CONFIGURATION

 The arrangement of electrons in the orbitals of an

atom is called the electron configuration of the atom.
 The electron configuration shows how the electrons
of an atom are distributed among the atomic orbitals.
The orbital diagram shows the spin of the electron.
Pauli Exclusion Principle
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Pauli exclusion principle

STATES
THAT…

• No two electrons in the same atom can

have exactly the same set of all the four
quantum numbers n, l, ml, and ms.
• It was formulated by an Austrian physicist
Wolfgang Pauli
• Gives the last piece of
information that we need to
understand the general behavior
of electrons in atoms.
Aufbau Principle
 29

AUFBAU PRINCIPLE
Definition
• From the German word “Aufbau” means to “build up”.
• The Aufbau principle dictates that as protons are
added one by one to the nucleus to build up the
elements, electrons are similarly added to the atomic
orbitals. The order of filling up the atomic orbitals is
from lowest energy to highest energy.
• Each electron occupies the lowest energy orbital
available
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Aufbau principles diagram

Which has a lower energy level 4s or 3d orbitals?

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Aufbau principle diagram

• Within the same principal quantum number, the
order of energies of the atomic orbitals is
s<p<d<f
• For multi-electron atoms, the general order of filling
up orbitals can be diagrammed as follows:
Hund’s Rule
 33

HUND’S RULE
Definition
Hund’s Rule
 The most stable arrangement of electrons in the subshells is the one
with the most number of parallel spins.
 If two or more orbitals of equal energy are available, electrons will
occupy them singly with the same spin, before filling them in pairs with
opposite spins
 A spin is denoted with an up or down  arrow to fill orbitals. These are
electrons represented by arrows.
 “Empty Bus Seat Rule”

WRONG 33 RIGHT
 ORBITAL DIAGRAMS
• Each box represents one orbital.
• Half-arrows represent the electrons.
• The direction of the arrow
represents the spin of the electron

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ORBITAL DIAGRAMS

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 WRITING ATOMIC ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS

We describe an electron configuration with a symbol that

contains three pieces of information
 1. The number of the principal quantum shell, n,
 2. The letter that designates the orbital type (the subshell, l),
and
 3. A superscript number that designates the number of
electrons in that particular subshell.
 37

EXAMPLE
For the electron in the ground state of hydrogen, the electron
configuration is given as

Number of electrons in an orbital or

subshell
Angular momentum number l
(subshell)
Principal quantum
number n
In an orbital diagram, a 1s orbital can be represented as a box with 1
arrow up (up-spin) or arrow down (down-spin)

ARROW DEPICTS
ELECTRON SPIN
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Orbitals in the periodic table

• The electron configuration of elements higher than hydrogen and helium
can be represented using the noble gas core. In the periodic table, the noble
gases are found in the last column named as Group 8A (or Group 18 in the
IUPAC convention). These are 2He, 10Ne, 18Ar, 36Kr, 54Xe, 86Rn.

The 4s orbital has

lower energy than the
3d orbitals; it is first
filled with electrons
before the 3d orbitals.
 A shorter way!
We can abbreviate the full energy levels by using noble gases.

Example: sodium
A neon's electron configuration (1s22s22p6)

B third energy level

[Ne] 3s1
C one electron in the s orbital

D orbital shape

Na = [1s22s22p6] 3s1 electron configuration

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 40

Orbitals in the periodic table

The smallest noble element is helium, so the shortened electronic
configuration can be written as follows for the given elements

The elements in the 4th period, starting from potassium will have argon as the
noble gas core
19K: [Ar]
20Ca: [Ar]
Some Anomalies...
Some irregularities occur when there are enough
electrons to half-fill or completely-fill s and d
orbitals on a given row.
•For instance, the electron configuration for
chromium (Cr) is

•For instance, the electron configuration for

copper (Cu) is

*Other anomalies include Nb, Mo, Ag, Au, La, Ce.

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 Valence Electron
Definition
• Important data that can be gathered from the
shortened electronic configuration are the following:
• a. Valence configuration: The electronic configuration
representing the outermost subshells.
• b. Valence electrons: the number of electrons in the
outermost subshells.
 Valence electron
• Determining the valence electrons is important to understand the
behavior of the elements especially in their bonding patterns.
Diamagnetism and
Paramagnetism
Diamagnetism and Paramagnetism
KEY POINTS

 Pauli’s Exclusion Principle can be tested by simple

observation. Measurements of magnetic properties
provide the most direct evidence for specific
electronic configurations of elements.
 Paramagnetic materials are those that contain
unpaired electrons or spins and are attracted by a
magnet.
 Diamagnetic materials are those with paired spins and
are repelled by a magnet.
KEY POINTS
Any atom with an odd number of electrons will contain one or more
unpaired spins, and are therefore attracted by a magnet, thus, can be
classified as paramagnetic. For an even number of electrons like
helium, if the two electrons in the 1s orbitals had parallel spins, their
net magnetic fields should strengthen each other. But experimental
results showed that the helium atom in its ground state has no net
magnetic field.

This observation supports the pairing of two electrons with opposite

spins in the 1s orbital. Thus, helium gas is diamagnetic. Lithium, on the
other hand, has an unpaired electron and is paramagnetic. The orbital
diagram provides information on the diamagnetic or paramagnetic
characteristic of an element.
Exercises:

1. List the values of n, l, and ml for

orbitals in the 4d subshell.
2. What is the total number of orbitals
associated with the principal
quantum number n = 3?
3. Write the four quantum numbers for
an electron in a 3p orbital.
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Exercises:

4. What is the maximum number of

electrons that can be present in the
principal level for which n = 3?
5. An oxygen atom has a total of eight
electrons. Write the four quantum
numbers for the 8th electron in the
ground state.
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Exercises:

1. List the values of n, l, and ml for

orbitals in the 3p subshell.
2. What is the total number of orbitals
associated with the principal
quantum number n = 4?
3. Write the four quantum numbers for
an electron in a 5p orbital.
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Exercises:

4. What is the maximum number of

electrons that can be present in the
principal level for which n = 4?
5. Write the complete set of quantum
numbers for the 5th electron in
boron.

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Answers:

1. Na > Mg > Ar > N > B

2. C) Al
3. B) Ar > Cl > S > Si > Al
4. B) Cl

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THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
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