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Science

Atomic structure

Electronic structure 2

Below are some more electronic structures. Remember - you need to learn the electronic structures of the first 20 elements.

The number of electrons in the highest occupied energy level of each atom is the same as the element's group number.

Electronic structures of elements

ElementNumeric formatElectronsPeriodic table group

Structure of a fluorine atom. A black dot represents the nucleus. The small circle around this has two red dots on it, representing the first energy level with two electrons. A larger outer circle has seven red dots on it, representing the second energy level with seven electrons

 
F 2,7

Fluorine atoms have nine electrons. Two of these fit into the first energy level. The remaining seven fit into the second energy level.

Group 7

Structure of a neon atom. A black dot represents the nucleus. The small circle around this has two red dots on it, representing the first energy level with two electrons. A larger outer circle has eight red dots on it, representing the second energy level with eight electrons

 
Ne 2,8

Neon atoms have ten electrons. Two of these fit into the first energy level. The remaining eight electrons fit into the second energy level. Because its highest occupied energy level is full, neon is stable [stable: Atoms are stable if their outer shell contains its maximum number of electrons. ] and unreactive.

Group 0 - that is, the eighth group

Structure of a sodium atom. A black dot represents the nucleus. The small circle around this has two red dots on it, representing the first energy level with two electrons. A larger middle circle has eight red dots, representing the second energy level with eight electrons. A larger outer circle has one red dot on it, representing the third energy level with one electron

 
Na 2,8,1

Sodium atoms have 11 electrons. Two of these fit into the first energy level, eight into the second energy level. The last one fits into the third energy level.

Group 1

Structure of a calcium atom. A black dot represents the nucleus. The small circle around this has two red dots on it, representing the first energy level with two electrons. A larger circle has eight red dots, representing the second energy level with eight electrons. Another larger circle has eight red dots on it, representing the third energy level, with eight electrons. An even larger outer circle has two red dots, representing the fourth energy level with two electrons

 
Ca 2,8,8,2

Calcium atoms have 20 electrons. Two of these fit into the first energy level, eight into the second energy level, another eight into the third energy level. The last two fit into the fourth energy level.

Group 2

Back to Atomic structure and bonding index

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