What is the electron configuration representing an atom of aluminum in an excited state?

1 Answer
David Drayer · Ernest Z.
Feb 15, 2017

An example of the electron configuration of aluminum in an excited state is #"1s"^2 "2s"^2 "2p"^6 "3s"^1 "3p"^2#.

Explanation:

There are an infinite number of possible excited states for the valence electrons of aluminum, depending on how much energy the electrons have absorbed.

The ground state of aluminum is #"1s"^2 "2s"^2 "2p"^6 "3s"^2 "3p"^1#

In the ground state the #"3s"# electrons are unable to form bonds. They must absorb energy to move to a higher energy state so that the electrons can be used to form bonds.

What happens is that the atom will promote a #"3s"# electron to the empty #"3p"# orbital, forming an excited state.

The atom can then form 3 #"sp"^2# hybrid orbitals to form three bonds to other atoms.

This enables aluminum to achieve a more stable electron configuration like that of neon.

Related questions
See all questions in Excited States and Ground States
Impact of this question
16409 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License