The electron configuration of a ground state sulfur atom (atomic number 16) can be expressed as:
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴
This configuration indicates that the sulfur atom has a total of 16 electrons distributed among its orbitals. Breaking it down:
- The first shell (1s) holds 2 electrons.
- The second shell consists of 2 electrons in the 2s orbital and 6 electrons in the 2p orbitals, making a total of 8 electrons.
- The third shell has 2 electrons in the 3s orbital and 4 electrons in the 3p orbital.
When visualizing the electron spins in the ground state configuration, we generally follow the Pauli exclusion principle and Hund’s rule:
- Each orbital can hold a maximum of 2 electrons with opposite spins.
- In the 3p orbitals, the four electrons will arrange such that one electron will occupy each of the three p orbitals (3p) before pairing occurs, resulting in two of the p orbitals containing paired spins.
To illustrate, the 3p orbitals can be drawn as:
3p: ↑↓ ↑ ↑
As for the spin multiplicity, it is determined using the formula:
Spin Multiplicity = 2S + 1
where S is the total number of unpaired electrons. In sulfur, the 3p orbital configuration shows two unpaired electrons (the two single arrows in the orbital distribution). Therefore:
- S = 1 (since there are 2 unpaired electrons),
- Spin Multiplicity = 2(1) + 1 = 3.
In summary, a ground state sulfur atom has an electron configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴, with a spin multiplicity of 3.