How many unpaired electrons are present in the orbital diagram for an atom whose electron configuration is 1s²2s²2p⁴? A) 0 B) 1 C) 2 D) 4

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To determine the number of unpaired electrons, we need to look at the orbital diagram and identify any electrons that are alone in a box (indicating they are unpaired). Using the given electron configuration, we can draw the following orbital diagram:

1s: ↑↓
2s: ↑↓
2p: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓

From this diagram, we can see that there are two unpaired electrons in the 2p sublevel (in the Px and Py orbitals). Therefore, the answer is C) 2.

How Many Unpaired Electrons Are Present in the Orbital Diagram