How many electrons occupy the first 3 shells?

ShellMax. number of electrons
12
28
318

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How many electrons can occupy the p-subshell?

6 electrons

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How many electrons can occupy the s-subshell?

2 electrons

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What subshells make up the third shell?

The third shell is made up of s, p and d subshells. 

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How many electrons can an orbital hold?

An orbital can hold up to 2 electrons (with opposite spins).

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How are atomic orbitals arranged into subshells and shells?

Atomic orbitals with the same energy are grouped together into subshells.

Subshells of similar energy are grouped together into shells.

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Why are the electrons in an atomic orbital paired with opposite spins?

Electrons are paired with opposite spins to minimise the repulsion between electrons.

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Which two first row transition metals are exceptions to the general rules of electron filling? 

Chromium and copper

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Explain why atoms of copper and chromium are exeptions to the general rules of electron fillling.

Greater stability is provided by having a half-filled or fully-filled 3d-subshell, rather than a full 4s-subshell.

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Describe the process of orbital hybridisation.

Orbital hybridisation is the mixing of atomic orbitals from different subshells to form new hybrid orbitals.


The primary types of hybrid orbitals, such as sp, sp2, and sp3, are formed by the combination of s and p atomic orbitals.

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Why does orbital hybridisation occur?

Orbital hybridisation occurs to allow the increased overlap of atomic orbitals to strengthen the covalent bond between two atoms and increase the stability of the resulting molecule.

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State the order that electrons are added to and removed from the 3d and 4s subshells.

Electrons are added to the 4s subshell before they are added to the 3d subshell.

Electrons are removed from the 4s subshell before they are removed from the 3d subshell.

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Describe the shorthand notation for writing electronic configurations.

Shorthand electronic configurations are written as the symbol of the previous noble gas element in square brackets followed by the outer electron subshell(s).


For example, the shorthand notation for aluminium is [Ne]3s23p1.

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What is an orbital?

A region around the nucleus that can hold up to 2 electrons with opposite spins.

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Explain the order of filling electrons in the 4s and 3d subshells when forming an atom.

When forming an atom, the 4s subshell fills before the 3d subshell.

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Explain the order of removing electrons from the 4s and 3d subshells when forming a positive ion.

When forming a positive ion, the 4s orbital empties before the 3d orbitals.

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Name the four types of subshell.

The four types of subshell are s, p, d and f.

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