Question

How many unpaired electrons are in sulfur atoms?

Answer 1

The atomic number of sulfur atoms is 16. The electronic configuration of sulfur atoms is 16. The electronic configuration of sulfur atoms is $1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^2}3{p^4}$. The valence electron in sulfur atoms is 6.

Complete step by step answer:
The sulfur is the chemical element present in the periodic table in group 16 and period 3. The sulfur is a p-block element. The atomic number of sulfur is 16. The electronic configuration of sulfur atoms is $1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^2}3{p^4}$. The valence electrons in sulfur atoms is 6.
The s orbital contains only one orbital which can hold maximum two electrons. The p-orbitals contain three suborbital each orbital can contain two electrons, so total electrons p-orbital can hold is six.
The orbital diagram of sulfur atom is shown below.

The 1s orbital contains two electrons so the orbital is fully filled. The 2s orbital contains two electrons so this orbital is also fully filled. The 2p orbital contains a total 6 electrons, so the 2p orbital is fully filled. The 3 s orbital is also completely filled as it is holding two electrons. In 3p orbital, total four electrons are present, two electrons in first orbital, one unpaired electron in second orbital and other unpaired electron in third orbital.
The total unpaired electrons in sulfur atom is 2 which is present in the 3p orbital.

Note:
During Filling of electrons, Hund’s rule is followed. Hund’s rule says that first orbitals are singly filled and then pairing of electrons takes place.