What's the electron configuration for Oganesson? Atomic number-118

1 Answer
Jan 15, 2018

[Rn] 7s^2 5f^14 6d^10 7p^6

Explanation:

For oganesson, we should probably use noble gas notation (to indicate that it has the same electron configuration as that noble gas to a certain point) because it would get too long otherwise.

The closest noble gas to oganesson is radon. So, make that the first part of the answer:
[Rn]
PTablePTable

Then, read the periodic table from left to right, beginning from radon.
PTable orbital modePTable orbital mode
As you see, to get to oganesson, we go through:

  1. The complete 7s orbital. The maximum number of electrons in the s orbital is 2. It's full, so oganesson has 2 electrons in the 7s orbital.
  2. The complete 5f orbital (for the f orbitals, subtract 2 from the period number to get the energy level. So, for us, it would be 7-2=5.) The maximum number of electrons in the f orbital series is 14. It's full, so oganesson has 14 electrons in the 5f orbital.
  3. The complete 6d orbital. The maximum number of electrons in the d orbital series is 10. It's full, so oganesson has 10 electrons in the 6d orbital.
  4. The complete 7p orbital. The maximum number of electrons in the p orbital series is 6. It's full, so oganesson has 6 electrons in the 7p orbital.

Put that information all together:

[Rn] 7s^2 5f^14 6d^10 7p^6