This document defines and explains electronic configuration, which shows the distribution of electrons in an atom or molecule. It describes electron shells as the areas where electrons orbit, and atomic orbitals as specific regions that electrons can occupy according to set filling orders. Overlap orbitals occur when electrons share the same orbital space, as in the H2 molecule. The document also provides an example of how to write electronic configurations and use an electron configuration table to visualize the notation.

1. ELECTRONIC
CONFIGURATION
Made by Rudraksh gupta

2. WHAT IS ELECTRONIC
CONFIGURATION
• This is the electronic configuration
definition

3. STEPS OF ELECTRONIC
CONFIGURATION
What is
an
electron
configura
tion?
What are
electron
shells?
What is
an atomic
orbital?
What are
overlap
orbitals?
How do
you use an
electron
configurati
on table?

4. WHAT IS AN ELECTRON
CONFIGURATION?
• An electron configuration shows the distribution of electrons of an atom or a
molecule. There is a specific notation that can quickly show you where the
electrons are likely to be located, so knowing this notation is an essential part
of knowing electron configurations. Reading these notations can tell you what
element you’re referring to and how many electrons it has.[1]The structure of
the periodic table is based on electron configuration.
• For example, the notation for Phosphorus (P) is {displaystyle
1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{3}}.

5. WHAT ARE ELECTRON SHELLS?
• The area that surrounds the nucleus of an atom, or the area where the
electrons orbit, is called an electron shell. There are usually around 3 electron
shells per atom, and the arrangement of these shells is called the electron
configuration. All electrons in the same shell must have the same
energy.[2]Electron shells are also sometimes referred to as energy levels.

6. WHAT IS AN ATOMIC ORBITAL?
• As an atom gains electrons, they fill different orbitals sets according to a specific
order. Each set of orbitals, when full, contains an even number of electrons. The orbital
sets are:[3]The s orbital set (any number in the electron configuration followed by an
"s") contains a single orbital, and by Pauli's Exclusion Principle, a single orbital can
hold a maximum of 2 electrons, so each s orbital set can hold 2 electrons.
• The p orbital set contains 3 orbitals, and thus can hold a total of 6 electrons.
• The d orbital set contains 5 orbitals, so it can hold 10 electrons.
• The f orbital set contains 7 orbitals, so it can hold 14 electrons.
• The g, h, i and k orbital sets are theoretical. No known atoms have electrons in any of
these orbitals. The g set has 9 orbitals, so it could theoretically contain 18 electrons.
The h set would have 11 orbitals and a maximum of 22 electrons, the i set would have
13 orbitals and a maximum of 26 electrons, and the k set would have 15 orbitals and a
maximum of 30 electrons.
• Remember the order of the letters with this
mnemonic:[4] Sober Physicists Don't Find Giraffes Hiding In Kitchens.

7. WHAT ARE OVERLAP ORBITALS?
• Sometimes, electrons occupy a shared orbital space. Take the Dihydrogen
molecule, or H2. The 2 electrons must stay close to each other in order to stay
attracted to each other and connect. Since they’re so close, they will occupy
the same orbital space, thus sharing the orbital, or overlapping it.[5]In your
notation, you’d simply change the row number to 1 less than it actually is. For
example, the electron configuration for germanium (Ge) is {displaystyle
1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^{2}3d^{10}4p^{2}.} Even though you go
all the way to row 4, there is still a “3d” in the middle there because of
overlap.[6]

8. HOW DO YOU USE AN ELECTRON
CONFIGURATION TABLE?
• If you’re having trouble visualising your notation, it can be useful to use an
electron configuration table so you can actually see what you’re writing. Set up
a basic table with the energy levels going down the y-axis and the orbital type
going across the x-axis. From there, you can draw your notation in the
corresponding spaces as they go down the y-axis and across the x-axis. Then,
you can follow the line to get your notation.[7]For example, if you were
writing out the configuration for beryllium, you’d start up at the 1s, then loop
back around to the 2s. Since beryllium only has 4 electrons, you’d stop after
that, and get your notion of {displaystyle 1s^{2}2s^{2}.}

9. HOW DO WE DO ELECTRON
CONFIGURATION
• We add the neutron’s and the proton’s

10. •THANK YOU