Cobalt orbital diagram

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Cobalt orbital diagram
Cobalt orbital diagram | Image: Learnool

In the cobalt orbital diagram, the 1s subshell holds two electrons, the 2s subshell carries another pair, the 2p subshell encompasses six electrons, the 3s subshell contains two electrons, the 3p subshell carries six electrons, the 4s subshell holds two electrons, and the 3d subshell carries seven electrons, totaling twenty-seven electrons.

To depict the cobalt orbital diagram, begin by determining the number of electrons from the periodic table. Take note of the electron configuration for reference and follow the three fundamental rules: the Aufbau principle, Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund’s rule. This systematic approach ensures an accurate representation of cobalt’s orbital arrangement.

Steps

Find electrons

A periodic table showcasing 118 elements, listed in increasing order of atomic numbers | Image: Learnool

To find out how many electrons cobalt has, check its atomic number on the periodic table. Cobalt, with an atomic number of 27, possesses twenty-seven electrons.

Write electron configuration

The electron configuration of cobalt is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d7.

Now in the next step, start drawing the orbital diagram for cobalt.

Draw orbital diagram

Before drawing the orbital diagram, you should know the three general rules.

  • Aufbau principle – electrons are first filled in lowest energy orbital and then in higher energy orbital
  • Pauli exclusion principle – two electrons with the same spin can not occupy the same orbital
  • Hund’s rule – each orbital should be first filled with one electron before being paired with a second electron

Also, you should know the number of orbitals in each subshell.

We can calculate the number of orbitals in each subshell using the formula: 2ℓ + 1

Where, ℓ = azimuthal quantum number of the subshell

For s subshell, ℓ = 0
For p subshell, ℓ = 1
For d subshell, ℓ = 2
For f subshell, ℓ = 3

So each s subshell has one orbital, each p subshell has three orbitals, each d subshell has five orbitals, and each f subshell has seven orbitals.

Now start to draw!

As mentioned above, the electron configuration of cobalt is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d7. Hence, draw the blank orbital diagram of cobalt up to 3d subshell as follows:

Blank orbital diagram of cobalt | Image: Learnool

In the above orbital diagram, the box represents an orbital. Each orbital has a capacity of two electrons. And the arrows (↑↓) are drawn inside the box to represent electrons.

Now 1s2 indicates that the 1s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 1s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 1s box represent 1s2 | Image: Learnool

2s2 indicates that the 2s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 2s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 2s box represent 2s2 | Image: Learnool

2p6 indicates that the 2p subshell has 6 electrons. So draw six arrows in the 2p box showing six electrons as follows:

Six arrows drawn in 2p box represent 2p6 | Image: Learnool

3s2 indicates that the 3s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 3s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 3s box represent 3s2 | Image: Learnool

3p6 indicates that the 3p subshell has 6 electrons. So draw six arrows in the 3p box showing six electrons as follows:

Six arrows drawn in 3p box represent 3p6 | Image: Learnool

4s2 indicates that the 4s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 4s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 4s box represent 4s2 | Image: Learnool

3d7 indicates that the 3d subshell has 7 electrons. So draw seven arrows in the 3d box showing seven electrons as follows:

Seven arrows drawn in 3d box represent 3d7 | Image: Learnool

That’s it! This is the final orbital diagram of cobalt as we have used all 27 electrons.

Next: Nickel orbital diagram

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Learnool.com was founded by Deep Rana, who is a mechanical engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. He has a good conceptual knowledge on different educational topics and he provides the same on this website. He loves to learn something new everyday and believes that the best utilization of free time is developing a new skill.

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