To find the electron configuration for boron, start by identifying its atomic number. Boron has an atomic number of 5, which means it has 5 electrons.
The electrons are arranged in energy levels (or shells), following the principles of quantum mechanics, where electrons fill the lowest available energy levels first. The order of electron filling is usually written using the notation for each subshell, such as 1s, 2s, 2p, etc.
1. 1s subshell: The first energy level can hold up to 2 electrons. The first 2 electrons of boron will therefore go into the 1s subshell:
[tex]\[
1s^2
\][/tex]
2. 2s subshell: The next energy level is the 2s subshell, which can also hold up to 2 electrons. The next 2 electrons of boron will go into the 2s subshell:
[tex]\[
2s^2
\][/tex]
3. 2p subshell: The remaining 1 electron will go into the next available subshell, the 2p subshell, which can hold up to 6 electrons but currently only holds 1 for boron:
[tex]\[
2p^1
\][/tex]
Putting it all together, the electron configuration for boron is:
[tex]\[
1s^2 \ 2s^2 \ 2p^1
\][/tex]
Thus, among the given options, the correct electron configuration for boron is:
[tex]\[
1s^2 \ 2s^2 \ 2p^1
\][/tex]
