Question on: JAMB Chemistry - 2020
The electronic configuration of an element is 1S\(^2\) 2S\(^2\) 2P\(^6\) 3S\(^2\) 3P\(^3\). How many unpaired electrons are there in the element?
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The electronic configuration provided is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³.
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Focus on the outermost shell: The outermost shell is the 3rd shell, which contains 3s² and 3p³. We only need to consider the 3p orbitals since the 3s orbital is completely filled and does not contain unpaired electrons.
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3p orbital: The 3p subshell has three orbitals, each of which can hold a maximum of two electrons.
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Filling the 3p orbitals: The 3p³ configuration means there are three electrons to be distributed in the 3p orbitals. Following Hund's rule, these electrons will singly occupy each of the three 3p orbitals before pairing up.
- 3p: ↑ ↑ ↑
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Unpaired electrons: From the distribution of electrons in the 3p orbitals, there are three unpaired electrons.
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