Electron Configuration Diagram In freshman chemistry, students are taught to write electron configurations of atoms and ions using subshell notation. The most common method presented to the student is to have them follow a schematic diagram in which the order of filling subshells follows diagonallines. However, same students have difficulty in follawing the diagonalized method. A simpler diagram 1s the following 1s
2s 2p 38 3p 3d 49 4 p 4d 4f 5s 5p 5d 5 f 6s 6 p 6d 6 f 7s 7p 7d 8s 8p
In this diagram, the student finds the order of filling in a vertical manner from top to bottom and from left to right. Comparison with other diagrams shows that the order of filling is the same; however, t,he method presenbed here is an easier one to follaw.
Volume 49, Number 6, June 1972
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