To determine the noble gas electron configuration of aluminum, let's first understand a few key facts about aluminum and its electronic configuration.
1. Atomic Number of Aluminum: The atomic number of aluminum (Al) is 13. This means aluminum has 13 protons and, when neutral, 13 electrons.
2. Noble Gas Preceding Aluminum: The noble gas that precedes aluminum in the periodic table is Neon (Ne), which has an atomic number of 10. This means Neon has a complete electron configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p⁶, totaling 10 electrons.
3. Electron Configuration of Aluminum Beyond Neon:
- After accounting for the 10 electrons in Neon, we need to place the remaining 3 electrons for aluminum.
- The next available orbitals after the 2p level (which is completely filled by Neon) are in the third shell.
- The third shell begins with the 3s orbital, which can hold 2 electrons. So, the first 2 of the remaining 3 electrons will go into the 3s orbital, resulting in 3s².
- The last electron will then go into the next available orbital, which is the 3p orbital. Therefore, we place this single electron in the 3p orbital, resulting in 3p¹.
4. Combining the Noble Gas Core with the Remaining Electrons:
- To write the noble gas configuration, we start with the electron configuration of Neon, represented as [Ne].
- Then, we add the remaining electron configuration for aluminum: 3s² 3p¹.
Therefore, the noble gas electron configuration of aluminum is:
[tex]\[ \text{[Ne]} 3s^2 3p^1 \][/tex]
Looking at the provided options:
A. [Ne] [tex]$3s^2 3p^1$[/tex]
B. [tex]$|Ne| 2s^2 2p^0$[/tex]
C. [tex]$|A|] 3s^2 3p^1$[/tex]
D. [tex]$|A| \mid 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p$[/tex]
Option A correctly corresponds to the noble gas electron configuration of aluminum.
However, there appears to be a minor typo in the options as presented here. Assuming there is only one correct option, the configuration [Ne] [tex]$3s^2 3p^1$[/tex] should be valid.
Therefore, the correct choice is A.
