Electron Configuration Practice Quiz

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n atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the electron configuration is the distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule (or other physical structure) in atomic or molecular orbitals. For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom is 1s2 2s2 2p6, using the notation explained below.

Electronic configurations describe each electron as moving independently in an orbital, in an average field created by all other orbitals. Mathematically, configurations are described by Slater determinants or configuration state functions. – wikipedia

Electron Configuration Quiz

Electron Configuration – Basic Introduction

Test Questions and Answers

1. What atom matches this electron configuration? 1s22s22p63s2

  • Neon
  • Magnesium
  • Aluminum
  • Potassium

2. What atom matches this electron configuration? 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d10

  • Zinc
  • Copper
  • Nickel
  • Germanium

3. What is the electron configuration for a Sulfur atom?

  • 1s22s22p63p6
  • 1s22s22p63s23p6
  • 1s22s22p63s23p4
  • 3p4

4. What atom matches this electron configuration? 1s22s22p63s33p64s23d104p65s24d105p66s24f145d9

  • Mercury
  • Gold
  • Platinum
  • Thallium

5. What electron configuration matches an oxygen atom?

  • 1s22s22p63s2, 3p64s23d104p5
  • 1s22s22p4
  • 1s22s22p6
  • 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d1

6. Which of the following is the smallest in size?

  • N
  • S
  • I
  • Fr

7. Which of the following is the smallest in size?

  • K
  • Na
  • Li
  • Cs

8. How many electrons does Si contain?

si

  • 14
  • 28
  • 2
  • 4

9. How many valence electrons does Si contain?

silicon

  • 14
  • 28
  • 2
  • 4

10. How many electrons can the first energy level hold?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 8
  • 0

11. An orbital can at most hold how many electrons?

  • 1 electron
  • 2 electrons
  • 3 electrons
  • 4 electrons

12. The electron configuration of an atom is 1s22s22p6.  The number of electrons in the atom is

  • 3
  • 6
  • 8
  • 10

13. The electron configuration of an atom is 1s22s22p6.  The number of valence electrons in the atom is

  • 3
  • 6
  • 8
  • 10

14. What atom is represented here?

atom

  • Carbon
  • Nitrogen
  • Oxygen
  • Fluorine

15. How many valence electrons are represented here?

atom

  • 7
  • 5
  • 2
  • 8

16. What is the electron configuration for this atom?

atom
  • 1s22s22p6
  • 1s22s22p5
  • 1s22s22p3
  • 2s22p3

17. What is the highest occupied energy level?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

18. What is the highest occupied energy level?

What is the highest occupied energy level?

 

  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7

19. How many valence electrons are there?

What is the highest occupied energy level?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 8
  • 79

20. How many orbitals are in the 4s sublevel?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

21. How many orbitals are in the 4p sublevel?

  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 6

22. How many orbitals are in the 4d sublevel?

  • 2
  • 4
  • 5
  • 10

23. How many orbitals are in the 4f sublevel?

  • 2
  • 4
  • 7
  • 14

24. After filling 5s, electrons would fill…

  • 5p
  • 4d
  • 5d
  • 3f

25. After filling 6s, electrons would fill

  • 4f
  • 5d
  • 6p
  • 7g

26. How many unshared pairs of electrons are in this orbital diagram?

How many unshared pairs of electrons are in this orbital diagram?

  • 2
  • 3
  • 5
  • 15

27. How many unshared pairs of electrons are in this orbital diagram?

  • 2
  • 4
  • 6
  • 8

Term and Answer Keys

1s¹
H (Hydrogen)
1s²
He (Helium)
1s²2s¹
Li (Lithium)
1s²2s²
Be (Beryllium)
1s²2s²2p¹
B (Boron)
1s²2s²2p²
C (Carbon)
1s²2s²2p³
N (Nitrogen)
1s²2s²2p⁴
O (Oxygen)
1s²2s²2p⁵
F (Fluorine)
1s²2s²2p⁶
Ne (Neon)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s¹
Na (Sodium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²
Mg (Magnesium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p¹
Al (Aluminum)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p²
Si (Silicon)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p³
P (Phosphorus)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁴
S (Sulfur)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁵
Cl (Chlorine)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶
Ar (Argon)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s¹
K (Potassium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²
Ca (Calcium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹
Sc (Scandium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d²
Ti (Titanium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d³
V (Vanadium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d⁵
Mn (Manganese)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d⁶
Fe (Iron)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d⁷
Co (Cobalt)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d⁸
Ni (Nickel)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰
Zn (Zinc)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p¹
Ga (Gallium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p²
Ge (Germanium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p³
As (Arsenic)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p⁴
Se (Selenium)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p⁵
Br (Bromine)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s²3d¹⁰4p⁶
Kr (Krypton)
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s¹3d¹⁰
Cu (Copper)
How are 1s and 2s orbitals alike/different?
How are 1s and 2s orbitals alike/different?
They both have a similar layout. The 2s orbital has a greater chance of finding the electron since it is farther from the nucleus
what are the 3 p orbitals?
what are the 3 p orbitals?
How many electrons can any given orbital hold?
2 electrons
How many orbitals are in the s sublevel?
1 orbital
How many orbitals are in the p sublevel?
3 orbitals
How many orbitals are in the d sublevel?
5 orbitals
How many orbitals are in the f sublevel?
14 orbitals
Aufbau’s Principle
Each electron will occupy the lowest energy level available and fill in an order
Pauli Exclusion Principle
Because electrons spin, two electrons can occupy one orbital as long as they are spinning oppositely.
Hund’s Rule
Within a certain sublevel, single electrons are placed one at a time in orbitals with spins of the same directions and then will double up with electrons spinning the opposite direction.
How many total electrons are in the 1st energy level?
2 electrons
How many total electrons are in the 2nd energy level?
8 electrons
How many total electrons are in the 3rd energy level?
18 electrons
How many total electrons are in the 4th energy level?
32 electrons
How many electrons are in any given s sublevel?
2 electrons
How many electrons are in any given p sublevel?
6 electrons
How many electrons are in any given d sublevel?
10 electrons
How many total electrons are in any given f sublevel?
14 electrons

 

Great Sources:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_configuration
  2. Electron configuration at LibreTexts Chemistry
  3. Electron configuration at FSU Chemistry
  4. How to Write Electron Configurations for Atoms of Any Element at WikiHow

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