Helium electronic configuration

Even though helium and the Group 2 A metals have ns outer electron configurations, helium has a closed shell noble gas configuration and the Group 2 A metals do not. The electrons in He are much closer to and more strongly attracted by the nucleus. Hence, the electrons in He are not easily removed. Helium is inert. 

Rare gases are those elements in Group VIIIA of the periodic table helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. They are not necessarily rare, however, and are also called the inert or noble gases. Due to their electron configurations, helium, neon, and argon are extremely nonreactive, while others undergo some reactions. 

Example The electron configuration for Be is Is lsfi but we write [He]2s where [He] is equivalent to all the electron orbitals in the helium atom. The Letters, s, p, d, and f designate the shape of the orbitals and the superscript gives the number of electrons in that orbital. 

A hydrogen atom (Z = 1) has one electron a helium atom (Z = 2) has two The single electron of hydrogen occupies a Is orbital as do the two electrons of helium We write their electron configurations as... 

The covalent, or shared electron pair, model of chemical bonding was first suggested by G N Lewis of the University of California m 1916 Lewis proposed that a sharing of two electrons by two hydrogen atoms permits each one to have a stable closed shell electron configuration analogous to helium... 

It can now be seen that there is a direct and simple correspondence between this description of electronic structure and the form of the periodic table. Hydrogen, with 1 proton and 1 electron, is the first element, and, in the ground state (i.e. the state of lowest energy) it has the electronic configuration ls with zero orbital angular momentum. Helium, 2 = 2, has the configuration Is, and this completes the first period since no... 

This is larger than the corresponding value for Li (57 kJ mol" ) but substantially smaller than the value for F (333kJmol" ). The hydride ion H" has the same electron configuration as helium but is much less stable because the single positive charge on the proton must now control the 2 electrons. The hydride ion is thus readily deformable and this constitutes a characteristic feature of its structural chemistry (see p. 66). 

From Figure 6.8 it is possible to predict the electron configurations of atoms of elements with atomic numbers 1 through 36. Because an s sublevel can hold only two electrons, the Is is filled at helium (Is2). With lithium (Z = 3), the third electron has to enter a new sublevel This is the 2s, the lowest sublevel of the second principal energy level. Lithium has one electron in this sublevel (ls s1)- With beryllium (Z = 4), the 2s sublevel is filled (ls22s2). The next six elements fill the 2p sublevel. Their electron configurations are... 

A neutral helium atom has two electrons. To write the ground-state electron configuration of He, we apply the aufbau principle. One unique set of quantum numbers is assigned to each electron, moving from the most stable orbital upward until all electrons have been assigned. The most stable orbital is always ly( = l,/ = 0, JW/ = 0 ). 

The charge on the nucleus and the number of electrons in the valence shell determine the chemical properties of the atom. The electron configurations of the noble gases (except for that of helium) correspond to a valence shell containing eight electrons—a very stable configuration called an... 

Which elements acquire the electron configuration of helium by covalent bonding ... 

It must be emphasized that the octet rule does not describe the electron configuration of all compounds. The very existence of any compounds of the noble gases is evidence that the octet rule does not apply in all cases. Other examples of compounds that do not obey the octet rule are BF,. PF5, and SF6. But the octet rule does summarize, systematize, and explain the bonding in so many compounds that it is well worth learning and understanding. Compounds in which atoms attain the configuration of helium (the duet) are considered to obey the octet rule, despite the fact that they achieve only the duet characteristic of the complete first shell of electrons. 

Refer to the sets of quantum numbers for hydrogen and helium that you saw earlier. Then use the quantum numbers for lithium to infer why a lithium atom has the ground state electron configuration that it does. 

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