Honors Chemistry - Unit 3 Lesson 3

principal energy level

group of orbitals containing electrons a certain distance from the nucleus

• each level has a maximum number of electrons it can contain, higher energy levels can hold more electrons

maximum number of electrons in each level

first energy level = 2 electrons

second energy level = 8 electrons

third energy level = 18 electrons

fourth energy level = 32 electrons

electrons will occupy the…

lowest energy level available

electron configurations

a series of numbers that describe the energy level of the electrons in an atom

ground state

electrons occupy the lowest energy/level possible

valence electrons

the last number in the configuration is the number of electrons in the highest level; valence number

valence electrons determine the…

chemical properties for the element

same number of valence electrons =

similar chemical properties

excited state

when an atom gains energy and skips from a lower level to a higher level(absorption)

how does bright line spectra show patterns of emmision line?

when electrons move down a level, energy is emitted(emission), and shows atoms that have distinct lines of emission lines

the more energy levels in an atom means…

more overall energy