The electron configuration of an atom is the representation of the arrangement of electrons distributed among the orbital shells and subshells. Commonly, the electron configuration is used to describe the orbitals of an atom in its ground state, but it can also be used to represent an atom that has ionized into a cation or anion by compensating with the loss of or gain of electrons in their subsequent orbitals. Many of the physical and chemical properties of elements can be correlated to their unique electron configurations. The valence electrons, electrons in the outermost shell, are the determining factor for the unique chemistry of the element.
The Four Electronic Quantum Numbers
Quantum numbers designate specific shells, subshells, orbitals, and spins of electrons. This means that they describe completely the characteristics of an electron in an atom, i.e., they describe each unique solution to the Schrödinger equation, or the wave function, of electrons in an atom. There are a total of four quantum numbers: the principal quantum number (n), the orbital angular momentum quantum number (l), the magnetic quantum number (ml), and the electron spin quantum number (ms). The principal quantum number,
n
n
, describes the energy of an electron and the most probable distance of the electron from the nucleus. In other words, it refers to the size of the orbital and the energy level an electron is placed in. The number of subshells, or
l
l
, describes the shape of the orbital. It can also be used to determine the number of angular nodes. The magnetic quantum number, ml, describes the energy levels in a subshell, and ms refers to the spin on the electron, which can either be up or down.
