Question

What is the electron configuration for silicon (Si)?

Answer 1

Well, silicon has `14` electrons.

Explanation:

We first start by writing the closest noble gas to silicon which has less electrons that it, so that noble gas is neon, which has `10` electrons.

The configuration becomes:

`[Ne]`

Still, there are `4` electrons left over. The next shell that will come up is the `3s` shell, which can hold `2` electrons. Filling it out, we get:

`[Ne]3s^2`

Finally comes the `3p` shell, which can hold `6` electrons. But since here there are only `2` extra electrons left over, it'll hold `2` of them. So, the final configuration is:

`[Ne]3s^2\3p^2`