What is the electron configuration for Chlorine (Cl)?

The correct electron configuration for Chlorine (Cl) is represented by the notation 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁵. Chlorine has an atomic number of 17, indicating that it has a total of 17 electrons.

In the context of filling the electron orbitals, the first two electrons fill the 1s orbital, the next two fill the 2s orbital, and the following six are accommodated in the 2p orbitals. This accounts for the first 10 electrons.

Continuing, the 11th and 12th electrons go into the 3s orbital. After this, Chlorine needs five more electrons to reach a total of 17. These last five electrons fill the 3p orbital. Therefore, the correct configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁵, as it accurately reflects the distribution of all 17 electrons in their respective orbitals.

The other configurations do not match the electron count and arrangement expected for Chlorine, as they either have too many or too few electrons or incorrectly describe the filling order of the orbitals. This demonstrates the importance