Multiple Choice
Which of the following represents the ground state electron configuration of a selenium (Se) atom?
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10. Periodic Properties of the Elements
The Electron Configuration
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Which of the following is true when drawing a box (orbital) diagram for the electron configuration of an atom?
A
Electrons are placed in orbitals with opposite spins from the start, ignoring Hund's rule.
B
Electrons are placed in orbitals singly with parallel spins before pairing occurs, following Hund's rule.
C
Orbitals are filled in order of decreasing energy, starting from the highest energy level.
D
All electrons in an orbital diagram must be paired before moving to the next orbital.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand that an orbital (box) diagram visually represents the distribution of electrons in atomic orbitals, showing how electrons occupy orbitals within a subshell.
Recall Hund's rule, which states that electrons fill degenerate orbitals (orbitals of the same energy) singly first, with parallel spins, to minimize electron-electron repulsions and increase stability.
Recognize that electrons are not placed in orbitals with opposite spins from the start; instead, each orbital in a subshell gets one electron before any pairing occurs.
Remember that orbitals are filled in order of increasing energy (not decreasing), following the Aufbau principle, which guides the sequence of orbital filling.
Note that electrons do not all pair up in one orbital before moving to the next; pairing only happens after each orbital in the subshell has one electron.
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