The electron configuration of an element describes the distribution of electrons among the orbitals of an atom. Chlorine has an atomic number of 17, meaning it has 17 electrons to place within its orbitals.
We will distribute these electrons according to the Aufbau principle, Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund's rule.
1. Start by filling the lowest energy orbitals first.
2. The orbital filling order for the first 17 electrons is:
- The 1s orbital can hold up to 2 electrons.
- The 2s orbital can hold up to 2 electrons.
- The 2p orbitals can hold up to 6 electrons.
- The 3s orbital can hold up to 2 electrons.
- The 3p orbitals can hold up to 6 electrons.
Following these steps:
- Fill the 1s orbital: [tex]\( 1s^2 \)[/tex] with 2 electrons (remaining 15 electrons).
- Fill the 2s orbital: [tex]\( 2s^2 \)[/tex] with 2 electrons (remaining 13 electrons).
- Fill the 2p orbitals: [tex]\( 2p^6 \)[/tex] with 6 electrons (remaining 7 electrons).
- Fill the 3s orbital: [tex]\( 3s^2 \)[/tex] with 2 electrons (remaining 5 electrons).
- Fill the 3p orbitals: [tex]\( 3p^5 \)[/tex] with remaining 5 electrons.
Therefore, the electron configuration for chlorine is:
[tex]\[ 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^5 \][/tex]
Thus, the correct option is:
[tex]\[ 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^5 \][/tex]
