Please draw and label the orbital diagram for chlorine (Cl). In the blank provided here, please write out the electron configuration. Then upload your orbital diagram to the assignments folder. Make sure your answer is clearly labeled and legible
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Of course. Here is the correct answer and explanation for the assignment.
Answer
Electron Configuration for Chlorine (Cl):
1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁵
Orbital Diagram for Chlorine (Cl):
(This is a text representation of the drawing you would create.)
1s: [↑↓]
2s: [↑↓]
2p: [↑↓] [↑↓] [↑↓]
3s: [↑↓]
3p: [↑↓] [↑↓] [↑]
Explanation
To determine the electron configuration and orbital diagram for chlorine (Cl), we must first identify its atomic number from the periodic table, which is 17. This number indicates that a neutral chlorine atom contains 17 protons and, therefore, 17 electrons that need to be placed into atomic orbitals.
Electron Configuration:
The electron configuration describes the distribution of these 17 electrons among the various atomic orbitals. We follow the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill the lowest energy orbitals first. The order of filling is 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, and so on.
- The 1s orbital can hold 2 electrons: 1s². (15 electrons remaining)
- The 2s orbital can hold 2 electrons: 2s². (13 electrons remaining)
- The 2p subshell, consisting of three orbitals, can hold a total of 6 electrons: 2p⁶. (7 electrons remaining)
- The 3s orbital can hold 2 electrons: 3s². (5 electrons remaining)
- Finally, the remaining 5 electrons go into the 3p subshell: 3p⁵.
Combining these gives the full electron configuration for chlorine: 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁵. Chlorine’s outermost energy level is n=3, which contains 7 valence electrons (3s²3p⁵), defining it as a halogen.
Orbital Diagram:
The orbital diagram provides a more detailed visual representation, showing the individual orbitals and the spin of the electrons within them. Each box represents an orbital, and arrows represent electrons.
- Pauli Exclusion Principle: An orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons, and they must have opposite spins (represented by an up arrow ↑ and a down arrow ↓).
- Hund’s Rule: When filling orbitals of equal energy (like the three p orbitals), electrons are placed one at a time in each orbital with parallel spins before any orbital is doubly occupied.
For chlorine’s 17 electrons:
- The 1s, 2s, 2p, and 3s orbitals are all completely filled with paired electrons (↑↓).
- The 3p subshell has 5 electrons. According to Hund’s rule, we first place one electron in each of the three 3p orbitals ([↑] [↑] [↑]). Then, we go back and pair up the first two orbitals with the remaining two electrons ([↑↓] [↑↓] [↑]). This results in two of the 3p orbitals being full and one being half-filled. This single unpaired electron is what makes the chlorine atom highly reactive, as it readily accepts one more electron to achieve a stable, filled 3p subshell.
