electron configuration

Electron Configuration

The way in which electrons are arranged in various orbitals around the nuclei of atoms

Sublevel/energy level

The fixed energies an electron can have

Pauli Exclusion Principle

Principle that states: if two electrons occupy the same orbital, they must have opposite spins

Valence electron

An electron in the highest occupied energy level of an atom

Quantum

The amount of energy needed to move an electron from one energy level to another; packet of light

Atomic Emission Spectrum

The pattern formed when light passes through a prism/diffraction grating to separate it into the different frequencies of light it contains

Amplitude

A wave’s height from zero to the crest

Aufbau Principle

Principle that states: electrons fill lower-energy atomic orbitals before filling higher-energy ones

Hund’s rule

Rule that states: electrons pair up in an orbital when every orbital in a sublevel has one electron