Write down the electron configuration of sodium in the format 1s2_2s2_2p6_etc_etc.
What is your trouble with this?
To determine the electron configuration of sodium, we need to follow the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill energy levels and sublevels in a specific order. The electron configuration of sodium can be determined by considering the periodic table.
Sodium (Na) is located in the third period and has an atomic number of 11. This means that sodium has 11 electrons.
The electron configuration of sodium can be broken down as follows:
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1
Explanation of the notation:
- 1s2 represents the first energy level (n=1) and is filled with 2 electrons (s sublevel can hold up to 2 electrons).
- 2s2 represents the second energy level (n=2) and is filled with 2 electrons (s sublevel can also hold up to 2 electrons).
- 2p6 represents the second energy level (n=2) and is filled with 6 electrons (p sublevel can hold up to 6 electrons).
- 3s1 represents the third energy level (n=3) and is filled with 1 electron (s sublevel can hold up to 2 electrons).
Hence, the complete electron configuration of sodium can be written as 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1.