Question

Write the electronic configuration of K and Ne.

Answer 1

The electronic configuration of an atom is the depiction of the arrangement of the electrons in the electronic shells. Under each large orbit there are a number of subshells and these subshells have degenerate orbitals in which the electrons are arranged.

Complete answer:
The electronic configuration of an atom is done on the basis of the number of electrons present in each orbit and in the subshells of each orbit. The configuration is done on the basis of Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity which states that, “Every orbital in a subshell is singly occupied first before any orbital is doubly occupied.” The rule predicts the ground state configuration of the atoms.
The atomic number of potassium is 19 and hence there are 19 electrons in its electronic orbits as well as 19 protons in its nucleus. These 19 electrons are arranged in different orbitals as follows:
$\text{K = 1}{{\text{s}}^{\text{2}}}\text{ 2}{{\text{s}}^{\text{2}}}\text{ 2}{{\text{p}}^{\text{6}}}\text{ 3}{{\text{s}}^{\text{2}}}\text{ 3}{{\text{p}}^{\text{6}}}\text{ 4}{{\text{s}}^{1}}$
The atomic number of Ne being 10, the electronic configuration of neon is as follows:
$\text{Ne = 1}{{\text{s}}^{\text{2}}}\text{ 2}{{\text{s}}^{\text{2}}}\text{ 2}{{\text{p}}^{\text{6}}}$

Note:
The electrons are filled up in the orbits and in the respective orbitals according to their maximum capacity. The first shell can have a maximum of two electrons, the second shell can have maximum eight electrons, while the third one can have maximum eighteen electrons and so on. These electrons are arranged in the different subshells according to their maximum capacity. The s-subshell can have 2 electrons, p subshells can have 6 electrons, d can have 10 electrons, and f orbitals can have maximum 14 electrons.