Use the periodic table to write the electron configuration for antimony (Sb). Express your answer in condensed form, in order of increasing orbital energy. For example, [He]2s^22p^2 would be entered as [He]2s^22p^2.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The electron configuration for antimony (Sb), which has an atomic number of 51, can be written by following these steps:
Step 1: Identify the electron configuration for the noble gas preceding antimony.
The noble gas preceding antimony on the periodic table is krypton (Kr), which has an atomic number of 36. This is the core configuration for antimony, so we start by writing [Kr] to represent the electron configuration of krypton.
Step 2: Fill the remaining electrons after krypton.
Antimony has a total of 51 electrons. Since krypton accounts for the first 36 electrons, there are 51−36=1551 – 36 = 1551−36=15 electrons left to place in the orbitals.
Step 3: Distribute the remaining 15 electrons into the appropriate orbitals.
- The next available orbital after krypton is the 4d block, which can hold 10 electrons. We place 10 electrons into the 4d orbital: 4d104d^{10}4d10.
- After the 4d orbitals are filled, we move to the 5p block, which can hold 6 electrons. Since we only need to place 5 more electrons, we place 5p35p^35p3 (3 electrons in the 5p orbital).
Step 4: Combine everything.
Therefore, the condensed electron configuration for antimony is:[Kr]4d105s25p3[Kr] 4d^{10} 5s^2 5p^3[Kr]4d105s25p3
Explanation:
- [Kr] represents the electron configuration of krypton, the noble gas preceding antimony.
- 4d^{10} fills the 4d orbital with 10 electrons. This is the first set of electrons added after krypton.
- 5s^2 places 2 electrons in the 5s orbital, which is the next available orbital after the 4d block.
- 5p^3 places 3 electrons in the 5p orbital, which is the final set of electrons to complete the electron configuration.
The arrangement follows the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill orbitals in order of increasing energy, from the lowest to the highest.
