Which element has three unpaired electrons in its p orbital?A. carbon (atomic number 6)B. oxygen (atomic number 8)C. nitrogen (atomic number 7)D. beryllium (atomic number 4)
Answers
Explanation:
In the Electron Configurations of Main Group Elements lesson, you learned a little bit about valence electrons. You saw how the number and type of valence electrons are important in determining the chemical properties of a particular element. Group 1A metals were highly reactive, because they have a strong tendency to lose their single valence s electrons. Group 2A metals are reactive as well, but less so, because they had 2 valence s electrons. Finally, Group 8A elements were inert (not reactive at all), because they had completely filled valences and p sublevels, meaning they could neither lose nor gain electrons very easily. Now you might be wondering why we didn't talk much about the chemical properties of the elements in columns 4A-7A. It turns out that understanding the behavior of these elements requires a bit more information. Specifically, we need to know how the electrons fill up the p orbitals. Carbon, for instance, is a Group 4A element, so it has 2 valence s electrons, and 2 valence p electrons. Obviously, the 2 valence s electrons are paired together in the s orbital, but what about the 2 valence p electrons? Are the valence p electrons paired in a single p orbital, or are they each in their own p orbital (remember, there are a total of three p orbitals that the valence p electrons could be found in). What about nitrogen? Nitrogen is a Group 5A element, so it has 2 valence s electrons, and 3 valence p electrons. Again, the 2 valence s electrons must be paired in the s orbital, but what about the 3 valence p electrons? Are two of them paired in a single p orbital, or do all three have their own p orbitals