Phosphorus orbital diagram

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In the phosphorus orbital diagram, the 1s subshell accommodates two electrons, the 2s subshell holds another pair, and the 2p subshell encompasses six electrons. In the 3s subshell, there are two electrons, and the 3p subshell holds three electrons, totaling fifteen electrons.

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

Steps

Find electrons

The atomic number of phosphorus represents the total number of electrons of phosphorus. Since the atomic number of phosphorus is 15, the total electrons of phosphorus are 15.

Write electron configuration

The electron configuration of phosphorus is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³.

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

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 phosphorus is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³. Hence, draw the blank orbital diagram of phosphorus up to 3p subshell as follows:

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:

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

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

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

3p³ indicates that the 3p subshell has 3 electrons. So draw three arrows in the 3p box showing three electrons as follows:

That’s it! This is the final orbital diagram of phosphorus as we have used all 15 electrons.

Next: Sulfur orbital diagram

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Related

• Periodic table

More topics

• Phosphorus
• Phosphorus Bohr model
• Phosphorus protons neutrons electrons
• Phosphorus valence electrons

External links

• https://study.com/academy/answer/draw-and-explain-the-orbital-diagram-for-phosphorus.html
• https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/part-choose-orbital-diagram-phosphorus-11-11-11-2s-101l-1l-2p-11-35-3p-11-11-11-111111-2p–q71712832