Plutonium orbital diagram

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Plutonium orbital diagram
Plutonium orbital diagram | Image: Learnool

In the plutonium 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, the 3d subshell carries ten electrons, the 4p subshell accommodates six electrons, the 5s subshell has two electrons, the 4d subshell carries ten electrons, the 5p subshell accommodates six electrons, the 6s subshell has two electrons, the 4f subshell carries fourteen electrons, the 5d subshell has ten electrons, the 6p subshell accommodates six electrons, the 7s subshell has two electrons, and the 5f subshell carries six electrons, totaling ninety-four electrons.

To illustrate the plutonium 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 plutonium’s orbital arrangement.

Steps

Find electrons

Periodic table | Image: Learnool

The atomic number of plutonium represents the total number of electrons of plutonium. Since the atomic number of plutonium is 94, the total electrons of plutonium are 94.

Write electron configuration

The electron configuration of plutonium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f6.

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

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 plutonium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f6. Hence, draw the blank orbital diagram of plutonium up to 5f subshell as follows:

Blank orbital diagram of plutonium | 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

3d10 indicates that the 3d subshell has 10 electrons. So draw ten arrows in the 3d box showing ten electrons as follows:

Ten arrows drawn in 3d box represent 3d10 | Image: Learnool

4p6 indicates that the 4p subshell has 6 electrons. So draw six arrows in the 4p box showing six electrons as follows:

Six arrows drawn in 4p box represent 4p6 | Image: Learnool

5s2 indicates that the 5s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 5s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 5s box represent 5s2 | Image: Learnool

4d10 indicates that the 4d subshell has 10 electrons. So draw ten arrows in the 4d box showing ten electrons as follows:

Ten arrows drawn in 4d box represent 4d10 | Image: Learnool

5p6 indicates that the 5p subshell has 6 electrons. So draw six arrows in the 5p box showing six electrons as follows:

Six arrows drawn in 5p box represent 5p6 | Image: Learnool

6s2 indicates that the 6s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 6s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 6s box represent 6s2 | Image: Learnool

4f14 indicates that the 4f subshell has 14 electrons. So draw fourteen arrows in the 4f box showing fourteen electrons as follows:

Fourteen arrows drawn in 4f box represent 4f14 | Image: Learnool

5d10 indicates that the 5d subshell has 10 electrons. So draw ten arrows in the 5d box showing ten electrons as follows:

Ten arrows drawn in 5d box represent 5d10 | Image: Learnool

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

Six arrows drawn in 6p box represent 6p6 | Image: Learnool

7s2 indicates that the 7s subshell has 2 electrons. So draw two arrows in the 7s box showing two electrons as follows:

Two arrows drawn in 7s box represent 7s2 | Image: Learnool

5f6 indicates that the 5f subshell has 6 electrons. So draw six arrows in the 5f box showing six electrons as follows:

Six arrows drawn in 5f box represent 5f6 | Image: Learnool

That’s it! This is the final orbital diagram of plutonium as we have used all 94 electrons.

Next: Hydrogen 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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