MANGALDAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Mangaldan, Pangasinan
S.Y. 2024 – 2025

Senior High School Department

GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1

Name: _________________________________________________ Section: ____________________________

Name of Teacher: ______________________________________ Date of Submission:
_________________
Quarter No.: THIRD QUARTER Week No.: 5

QUARTER 1 – MODULE 6

General Chemistry: Draw an

Lesso
Orbital Diagram to Represent
n
the Electronic Configuration
21
of Atoms
Most Essential Learning Competency:
Draw an orbital diagram to represent the electronic configuration of atoms STEM_GC11ESIIa-b-
58

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students must be able to:

1. the quantum mechanical description of the atom and its electronic structure; and
2. the arrangement of elements in the periodic table and trends in the properties of the
elements in terms of electronic structure.

What is It
Energy Leveling & Orbitals

ENERGY LEVELS

 (also called electron shells) are fixed distances from the nucleus of an atom where
electrons may be found.
 Electrons are tiny, negatively charged particles in an atom that move around the
positive nucleus at the center.
 Energy levels are a little like the steps of a staircase. You can stand on one step or
another but not in between the steps. The same goes for electrons. They can occupy
one energy level or another but not the space between energy levels.
 The model in the Figure on the
right shows the first four energy
levels of an atom. Electrons in
energy level I (also called energy
level K) have the least amount of
energy. As you go farther from
the nucleus, electrons at higher
levels have more energy, and their
energy increases by a fixed, discrete
amount. Page 1|5
  Electrons can jump from a lower to the next higher energy level if they
absorb this amount of energy. Conversely, if electrons jump from a higher
to a lower energy level, they give off energy, often in the form of light.
This explains the fireworks pictured above. When the fireworks explode,
electrons gain energy and jump to higher energy levels. When they jump
back to their original energy levels, they release the energy as light.
Different atoms have different arrangements of electrons, so they give off
light of different colours.
 Energy levels (also called electron shells) are fixed distances from the
nucleus of an atom where electrons may be found. As you go farther from
the nucleus, electrons at higher energy levels have more energy.
 Electrons are always added to the lowest energy level first until it has the
maximum number of electrons possible, and then electrons are added to
the next higher energy level until that level is full, and so on. The
maximum number of electrons at a given energy level depends on its
number of orbitals. There are at most two electrons per orbital.
 Electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom are called valence
electrons. They determine many of the properties of an atom, including
how reactive it is.
SUBLEVELS AND ORBITALS

 When an electron is in a particular energy level, it is more likely to be found in

some parts of that level than in others.
 These parts are called orbitals. Orbitals of equivalent energy are grouped in
sublevels.
 Each orbital can contain a maximum of two electrons. When in a magnetic field,
the two electrons in a particular orbital differ very slightly in energy because of a
property called electron spin.
 The theory of electron spin states that the two electrons in a single orbital spin in
opposite directions on their axes, causing an energy difference between them.
 Each principal energy level has one sublevel containing one orbital, an s orbital
that can contain a maximum of two electrons. Electrons in this orbital are called s
electrons and have the lowest energy of any electrons in that principal energy
level. The first principal energy level contains only an s sublevel; therefore, it can
hold a maximum of two electrons.
 Each principal energy level above the first contains one’s orbital and three p
orbitals. A set of three p orbitals, called the p sublevel, can hold a maximum of six
electrons. Therefore, the second level can contain a maximum of eight electrons -
that is, two in the s orbital and 6 in the three p orbitals.
 Each principal energy level above the second contains, in addition to one’s orbital
and three p orbitals, a set of five d orbitals, called the d sublevel. The five d
orbitals can hold up to 10 electrons. Thus, the third level holds a maximum of 18
electrons: 2 in the s orbital, 6 in the three p orbitals, and 10 in the five d orbitals.
 The fourth and higher levels also have an f sublevel, containing seven f orbitals,
which can hold a maximum of 14 electrons. Thus, the fourth level can hold up to
32 electrons: 2 in the s orbital, 6 in the three p orbitals, 10 in the five d orbitals,
and 14 in the seven f orbitals. The sublevels of the first four principal energy levels
and the maximum number of electrons that the sublevels can contain are
summarized in Table 5.1.
 To distinguish which s, p, d, or f sublevel we are talking about, we precede the
letter by the number of the principal energy level. For example, the s sublevel of
the second principal energy level is designated 2s; the s sublevel of the third
principal energy level is designated 3s; and so on. The number of electrons
occupying a particular sublevel is shown by a superscript after the letter of the
sublevel.

Page 2|5
 NOTATION ON SUB LEVELING

SUBLEVELS OF THE FIRST FOUR ENERGY LEVELS

ORBITAL SHAPES AND SIZES

CROSS SECTIONAL VIEW OF ORBITALS OF AN ATOM

DRAWING ORBITALS
Page 3|5
  Orbital diagrams are
pictorial descriptions of
the electrons in an
atom. Three rules are
useful in
forming orbital
diagrams.

Aufbau Principle states that the lowest energy orbital is filled first. So
electrons usually fill the lowest energy level and the simplest orbital
shape first.

HOW TO WRITE AUFBAU PRINCIPLE

1. Write a column of s orbitals from 1 to 8.

2. Write a second column for the p orbitals
starting at n=2. (1p is not an orbital
combination allowed by quantum
mechanics.)
3. Write a column for the d orbitals starting
at n=3.
4. Write a final column for 4f and 5f. There are
no elements that will need a 6f or 7f shell to
fill.
5. Read the chart by running the diagonals
starting from 1s.

The graphic shows this table and the arrows show the path to follow. Now that you
know the order of orbitals to fill, you need only memorize the size of each orbital.

 s - 1 orbital, 2 electrons.
 p - 3 orbitals, 6 electrons
 d - 5 orbitals, 10 electrons

 f - 7 orbitals, 14 electrons

Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons can have the same four
quantum numbers. This is why each orbital only has two electrons, one spin up
( 1⁄2) and one spin down (–1⁄2).

HOW TO WRITE PAULI

EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE

1. Count the number of

electrons present in the
element.
2. Use arrows up to indicate
number of electrons
present in each orbital in
the element.
3. Box signifies as the orbital
for each element.

Hund’s Rule states that orbitals of the

same energy, those which differ only in their
orientation, are filled with electrons with the
same spin before the second electron is
added to any of the orbitals. Page 4|5
- According to the first rule, electrons
always enter an empty orbital before
 occupied orbitals are less effectively screened or shielded from the nucleus. Electron
shielding is further discussed in the next section.

- For the second rule, unpaired electrons in singly occupied orbitals have the
same spins. Technically speaking, the first electron in a sublevel could be either
"spin-up" or "spin-down." Once the spin of the first electron in a sublevel is
chosen, however, the spins of all of the other electrons in that sublevel depend on
that first spin. To avoid confusion, scientists typically draw the first electron, and
any other unpaired electron, in an orbital as "spin-up."

What I Have Learned

Direction: Draw an orbital (p) and an energy level (I- III). Draw inside the box

Orbital (p) Energy Level (I- III)

Additional Activities
Directions: Using a Venn diagram, cite similarities and differences between the three principle
governing electron configurations.

***All activities are taken from Department of Education modules.

Page 5|5