Ch.5 - Periodicity & Electronic Structure of Atoms

McMurry8th EditionChemistryISBN: 9781292336145Not the one you use?Change textbook

McMurry 8th Edition

Ch.5 - Periodicity & Electronic Structure of Atoms

Problem 139a

Chapter 5, Problem 139a

Consider the noble gas xenon. (a) Write the electron configuration of xenon using the abbreviation of the previous noble gas.

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Identify the previous noble gas to xenon in the periodic table. This will be used as the starting point for the electron configuration abbreviation.

Write the symbol of the previous noble gas in square brackets. This symbol represents the electron configuration of that noble gas.

Determine the number of electrons that need to be added to the previous noble gas to reach the atomic number of xenon.

Add the additional electron orbitals in the order of their energy levels, starting from the lowest available energy orbital after the noble gas configuration.

Ensure the electron configuration follows the order of orbital filling: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, etc., filling each sublevel according to the number of electrons needed to reach xenon's electron configuration.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Electron Configuration

Electron configuration describes the distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals. It is represented by a series of numbers and letters that indicate the energy levels and sublevels occupied by electrons. Understanding electron configuration is essential for predicting an element's chemical behavior and reactivity.

Noble Gases

Noble gases are a group of elements in Group 18 of the periodic table, known for their lack of reactivity due to having a full valence shell of electrons. The noble gas preceding xenon is krypton, which has an electron configuration that can be used as a shorthand to simplify the representation of xenon's configuration.

Abbreviated Electron Configuration

Abbreviated electron configuration uses the electron configuration of the nearest preceding noble gas to simplify the notation for larger atoms. For xenon, this means starting with the configuration of krypton and then adding the additional electrons in xenon's outer shells, making it easier to write and understand.

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Electron Configuration Example

Related Practice

Textbook Question

Red light with a wavelength of 660 nm from a 3.0 mW diode laser shines on a solar cell. (b) How much current (in amperes) flows in the circuit of the solar cell if all the photons are absorbed by the cell and each photon produces one electron?

An energetically excited hydrogen atom has its electron in a 5f subshell. The electron drops down to the 3d subshell, releasing a photon in the process. (c) The hydrogen atom now has a single electron in the 3d subshell. What is the energy in kJ/mol required to remove this electron?

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Textbook Question

Consider the noble gas xenon. (c) The energy required to completely remove the outermost electron from the excited xenon atom is 369 kJ/mol, almost identical to that of cesium (376 kJ/mol). Explain.

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Textbook Question

A minimum energy of 7.21⨉10^-19 J is required to produce the photoelectric effect in chromium metal. (b) Light with a wavelength of 2.50⨉10^-7 m falls on a piece of chromium in an evacuated glass tube. What is the minimum de Broglie wavelength of the emitted electrons? (Note that the energy of the incident light must be conserved; that is, the photon's energy must equal the sum of the energy needed to eject the electron plus the kinetic energy of the electron.)

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