wiz-icon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

How many p-orbitals are occupied in a Katom?


Open in App
Solution

Potassium(K):

  • Potassium is an alkali metal with an atomic number 19 and atomic mass of 39.
  • It is placed in the first group and fourth period.
  • It has an electronic configuration of 1s2,2s2,2p6,3s2,3p6,4s1.
  • The region or space around the nucleus where the probability of a finding of the electron is called orbitals.
  • From the electronic configuration, we can see that 2p and 3p sublevels are entirely occupied because each of them has six electrons.
  • Since there are three p-orbitals altogether for each p sublevel (px, py and pz), total of six p-orbitals are occupied in K atom i.e. three from 2p and three from 3p.

Therefore, there are six p-orbitals are occupied in an K atom.


flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
0
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
Writing a chemical Formula
CHEMISTRY
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon