Answer :
Certainly! Let's go through the detailed, step-by-step solution for determining the spectroscopic electron configuration of a boron atom.
First, recall that the atomic number of boron is 5, meaning a neutral boron atom has 5 electrons.
The spectroscopic electron configuration of an element describes how electrons are distributed among various atomic orbitals. This configuration follows the Aufbau principle, the Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund's rule to determine the most stable configuration for an atom's electrons.
The Aufbau principle states that electrons are filled into orbitals starting with the lowest energy levels first. According to this principle, we'll fill the 1s, 2s and then the 2p orbitals for boron.
The Pauli exclusion principle states that each orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons with opposite spins.
Hund's rule states that every orbital in a subshell is singly occupied before any one orbital is doubly occupied, and all electrons in singly occupied orbitals have the same spin.
With these principles in mind, let's determine the electron configuration of a boron atom (atomic number 5):
1. We start with the 1s orbital, which is the lowest energy level. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, the 1s orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons. So, we fill it with two electrons:
1s²
2. Next, we move to the 2s orbital, which is the next lowest energy level. It can also hold up to two electrons. Since we have three remaining electrons (after filling the 1s orbital), we'll place two of them in the 2s orbital:
2s²
3. After filling the 1s and 2s orbitals, we have one electron left. The next available orbital is the 2p orbital. According to Hund's rule, we place one electron in one of the 2p orbitals (since p orbitals can hold a total of six electrons, but we distribute them singly as long as possible):
2p¹
Putting it all together, the full spectroscopic electron configuration for a boron atom is:
1s² 2s² 2p¹
So the boron atom has electrons filled in the following manner: two in the 1s orbital, two in the 2s orbital, and one in the 2p orbital, which results in the configuration stated above.
First, recall that the atomic number of boron is 5, meaning a neutral boron atom has 5 electrons.
The spectroscopic electron configuration of an element describes how electrons are distributed among various atomic orbitals. This configuration follows the Aufbau principle, the Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund's rule to determine the most stable configuration for an atom's electrons.
The Aufbau principle states that electrons are filled into orbitals starting with the lowest energy levels first. According to this principle, we'll fill the 1s, 2s and then the 2p orbitals for boron.
The Pauli exclusion principle states that each orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons with opposite spins.
Hund's rule states that every orbital in a subshell is singly occupied before any one orbital is doubly occupied, and all electrons in singly occupied orbitals have the same spin.
With these principles in mind, let's determine the electron configuration of a boron atom (atomic number 5):
1. We start with the 1s orbital, which is the lowest energy level. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, the 1s orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons. So, we fill it with two electrons:
1s²
2. Next, we move to the 2s orbital, which is the next lowest energy level. It can also hold up to two electrons. Since we have three remaining electrons (after filling the 1s orbital), we'll place two of them in the 2s orbital:
2s²
3. After filling the 1s and 2s orbitals, we have one electron left. The next available orbital is the 2p orbital. According to Hund's rule, we place one electron in one of the 2p orbitals (since p orbitals can hold a total of six electrons, but we distribute them singly as long as possible):
2p¹
Putting it all together, the full spectroscopic electron configuration for a boron atom is:
1s² 2s² 2p¹
So the boron atom has electrons filled in the following manner: two in the 1s orbital, two in the 2s orbital, and one in the 2p orbital, which results in the configuration stated above.
