Electron Configuration and Orbital Diagrams

The chemical and physical characteristics of an element are primarily influenced by the electrons within the element. Bonding, density, ion formation, solubility, chemical reactivity, and atom size are a few examples of the many characteristics that electrons help to determine. The arrangement of electrons in atoms is anything but random. Electrons are arranged in a very intricate system around the nucleus. The region of space that an electron occupies cannot be exactly determined, but the most probable location and the energy of the electron can be determined thanks to the Quantum Mechanical Model.

Orbital diagrams provide a visual filing system to represent how the electrons are organized. Electron configurations provide the alphanumeric shorthand to represent the same organization. While neither the orbital diagram nor the electron configurations are designed to show what an atom’s electrons look like, they are certainly useful in determining the atom’s behavior patterns and organization on the periodic table.