Which of the following represents the electron configuration for Nitrogen?

Study for the Electron Configuration Test. Prepare with multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Ace your exam!

The electron configuration for nitrogen is correctly represented as [He] 2s² 2p³. To understand this, we need to consider the atomic number of nitrogen, which is 7. This means that a neutral nitrogen atom has 7 electrons.

The electron configuration can be built up according to the aufbau principle, which states that electrons occupy the lowest energy orbitals first.

  • The first two electrons fill the 1s orbital, resulting in 1s².

  • The next two electrons go into the 2s orbital, resulting in 2s².

  • The remaining three electrons will occupy the 2p orbital. Since the p subshell can hold up to six electrons, and nitrogen has three in this subshell, we write this as 2p³.

Thus, putting these together gives the full electron configuration: [He] 2s² 2p³. This notation indicates that the nitrogen atom has the same electron arrangement as helium ([He], which accounts for the first two electrons), plus the additional electrons in the 2s and 2p orbitals.

The representation appropriately shows that nitrogen is in group 15 of the periodic table with three electrons in the 2p subshell

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