Question
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b. Which of the following orbital diagrams are allowed, and which are not by the
Pauli Exclusion Principle? Explain for those that are not and write the electroni
configuration for those that are allowed (8 marks).
i.
ii.
iii.

is

iv.

Ask by Ross Salinas. in Papua New Guinea
Mar 27,2025

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Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

  • i: Not allowed (too many electrons in ).
  • ii: Allowed, configuration: .
  • iii: Allowed, configuration: .
  • iv: Not allowed (too many electrons in ).

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Beyond the Answer

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons in an atom can have the same set of four quantum numbers. This means that within an orbital, there is room for a maximum of two electrons, and they must have opposite spins. Now, let’s analyze the given orbital diagrams:
i. This diagram is not allowed because the 2p orbital is shown with four electrons (↑↑↑↓), which violates the principle. The allowed configuration would be: 1s² 2s¹ 2p³.
ii. This diagram is allowed because both the 1s and 2s orbitals are fully occupied with paired electrons (1s² 2s²).
iii. This diagram is not allowed since it claims that the 1s orbital has paired electrons while simultaneously stating the same for the 2p, giving two electrons in separate spins of the same orbital (2p²). The correct configuration for the allowed part would be 1s² 2p².
iv. This configuration is not allowed: the 1s orbital displays one down electron (↑↓) instead of two electrons and the 2s orbital has three electrons (↑↑↑), exceeding the maximum pairing. The correct representation would be 1s² 2s¹ 2p².

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