Electron Shells
Electron shells and orbitals hold electrons in a specific pattern.
In a neutral atom, the number of electrons must equal the number of protons. This makes the number of electrons equal to an element’s atomic number. The electrons reside somewhere away from the nucleus. The positive charge concentrates in a small central nucleus, Figure 1.
Electrons On the Outside
The electrons do not crowd together in one single cloud. They have limitations as to how many and where they can fit.
Electrons Fit in Shells
Electrons orbit the nucleus at fixed distances. More electrons occupy an energy level further from the nucleus.
Each Shell Further Away, Higher Energy
Each period (row) of the periodic table corresponds to another concentric ring further from the nucleus, Figure 2.
Principle Quantum Number
The first three rows of the periodic table represent the first three electron shells. The shells are labeled with their principle quantum number: n = 1, n = 2, n = 3….
Shells and Subshells
Every shell has subshells. The number of subshells equals the quantum number (row of periodic table). Each subshell has a label: s, p, d, f.
The shells and subshells grow closer and closer for every advance of concentric circles.
Orbitals
Each type of subshell contains a specific number of electron orbitals.
For n = 1, it has a single s shell which contains one s orbital. In the next highest shell, n = 2 contains an s and p subshell. The s subshell contains one orbital as before. The p subshell has three orbitals.
The number of shells, subshells, and orbitals in each subshell is summarized in Table 1.
Every electron orbital accommodates no more than two electrons. This makes it possible to assign electrons to a specific electron shell, electron subshell, and electron orbital.
Electron Distribution
Electrons can be distributed among orbitals until all the electrons are accounted for.
Figure 4 shows the first three periods of electron shells, subshells, and orbitals. It is also sufficient for what will serve you when you study organic chemistry.
For the sake of completeness, Figure 5 includes higher energy orbitals: d and f.
When you examine the order of orbitals, although 3d orbitals are in a lower shell, they are lower in energy than a 4s orbital. In a similar way, 4f is lower than 5d. The 5d itself lower than 6s.
Electron Rules
Place electrons in orbitals following three rules. These rules allow you to place electrons from the lowest energy to the highest energy orbitals.
Pauli Exclusion Principle
How Do Electrons Share an Orbital?
The Pauli exclusion principle is more complex than presented here. The important part here, dictates when two electrons occupy the same orbital, they must have opposite spins.
Whether these spins are ‘up’ or ‘down’ makes no difference. It only matters you write them so they are ‘opposite’.
Figure 6 shows how orbital diagrams show electrons with opposite spin when they share a single atomic orbital. The higher orbital with two electrons with both electrons ‘up’ is stamped as wrong.
Aufbau Principle
How Do Electrons Go Into Energy Levels?
Aufbau means ‘build up’ in German. This means electrons fill orbitals and shells from lower energy to higher energy.
Figure 7 shows two orbitals at different levels. A second electron can either fill the lower level with the electrons paired with opposite spin.
One alternative would be to have each electron fill each orbital with one electron, one at a lower level and one at a higher level.
However, the second possibility would fill a higher level before all lower orbitals fill. Conversely, the second possibility with singly occupied orbitals is stamped as wrong.
Hund’s Rule
How Do Electrons Fill Orbitals of the Same Level?
In contrast to s orbitals, p orbitals and d orbitals have more than one orbital at the same energy level. Figure 8 shows a sample p orbital. Each p orbital possesses three atomic orbitals at the same energy. After the first electron fills a p orbital, the next electron has two ways it can be placed into the p subshell.
Further, the second electron can either occupy a new orbital in the p subshell (on the left), or it can fill an already occupied p orbital by pairing with an electron already present (on the right).
The second electron fills a vacant orbital at the same energy. The alternative is stamped as wrong.