What is the complete ground-state electron configuration of calcium?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the complete ground-state electron configuration of calcium (Ca), which involves determining how electrons are distributed in the atomic orbitals according to the principles of quantum mechanics.
Answer
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2
The final answer is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2
More Information
Calcium has an atomic number of 20, meaning it has 20 protons and 20 electrons in its neutral state. The electron configuration fills orbitals in increasing energy levels.
Tips
A common mistake is to forget the order of filling the orbitals: after 3p, 4s is filled before 3d.
Sources
- What is the electron configuration of calcium? - Socratic - socratic.org
- Electron Configuration for Calcium (Ca) - TerpConnect - terpconnect.umd.edu
- Write the electronic configuration for calcium. - BYJU'S - byjus.com