Question

What is the shorthand electron configuration of Xe?

Answer 1

Electronic configuration:

• The distribution of electrons into orbitals of an atom is called its electronic configuration.
• Electronic configurations are filled based on the Aufbau principle.
• It states that the orbitals are filled in the sequence of increasing energy in the ground state of an atom. That is, lower energy orbitals are filled first by electrons, followed by higher energy orbitals. Given below is the order in which electrons are filled,
• $1s,2s,2p,3s,3p,4s,3d,4p,5s,4d,5p,6s,4f,5d,6p,7s,5f,6d,7p\dots$

Shorthand electronic configuration:

• It is the electronic configuration that is represented in terms of the noble gas element.
• For example: shorthand electronic configuration of Calcium is $\left[\mathrm{Ar}\right]4s^2$

Shorthand electronic configuration of Xe:

• Xenon (Xe) is the p-block element with the atomic number $54$.
• It is placed in the fifth period and 18^th group of the periodic table. The electronic configuration of Xe is $1{\mathrm{s}}^{2}2{\mathrm{s}}^{2}2{\mathrm{p}}^{6}3{\mathrm{s}}^{2}3{\mathrm{p}}^{6}3{\mathrm{d}}^{10}4{\mathrm{s}}^{2}4{\mathrm{p}}^{6}4{\mathrm{d}}^{10}5{\mathrm{s}}^{2}5{\mathrm{p}}^6$.
• To write the shorthand electronic configuration of Xe, consider the noble gas element which is placed just above the fifth period. Krypton (Kr) with 36 as the atomic number is a noble gas element that is placed just above the fifth period, that is in the fourth period. Now write the electronic configuration of Xe in terms of Kr as [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p⁶.
• Hence the shorthand electronic configuration of Xe is $\left[\mathrm{Kr}\right]4{\mathrm{d}}^{10}5{\mathrm{s}}^{2}5{\mathrm{p}}^6$.