Question

What is the ground-state electron configuration of a neutral atom of chloride?

Answer 1

`1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^5`

Explanation:

The ground state configuration of the neutral chlorine atom is `1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^5`

The ground state is the most stable energy state for the electrons of a given atom.

A neutral chlorine atom has 17 protons (atomic number 17) and 17 electrons.

The first two electrons are located in the `1s` orbital.

In the second energy level, two electrons are located in the `2s` orbital, and six electrons in the three `2p` sub-orbitals. (`p_x, p_y,p_z`).

The last 7 electrons, the outermost electrons with the highest energy levels, are located in the third energy level.

Two electrons are found in the `3s` orbital and the last five electrons in the `3p` sub-orbitals.

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