IB Chemistry

Structure 1.3 – Electron Configurations

Name ……………………………………………………

Structure 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 – Emission spectra

1. Emission spectra provide evidence for:

A the existence of neutrons

B the existence of isotopes
C the existence of atomic energy levels
D the nuclear model of the atom

2. Identify the region of the electromagnetic spectrum where the following will be found.

(a) An absorption with a wavelength of 5 x 104 m.

(b) An absorption with a wavelength of 5 x 10-7 m.
(c) An absorption with a frequency of 5 x 1015 s-1.
(d) The absorption when an electron is promoted from the first energy level to the
third energy level in a hydrogen atom.
(e) The emission when an electron falls from the fourth energy level to the second
energy level in a hydrogen atom.

3. The diagram shows the lowest five electron energy levels in the hydrogen atom.

n=5
n=4

n=3

n=2

n=1

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Deduce how many different frequencies in the visible emission spectrum of atomic
hydrogen would arise because of electron transitions between these levels.

A 3 B 4

C 6 D 10

4. Explain why the lines in the visible atomic emission spectrum of hydrogen converge
towards the higher energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum.

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5. Draw and label (using the letters a, b and c) on the energy level diagram below:

(a) the electron transition which will give the third line in the visible series of the
hydrogen emission spectrum.
(b) the electron transition which will give the third line in the ultraviolet series of the
hydrogen emission spectrum.
(c) the transition that relates to the ionization energy of a hydrogen atom.

6. The visible emission spectrum for hydrogen includes a red line with a wavelength of 657
nm corresponding to the transition 3 ® 2. State if the transition from 4 ® 2 corresponds
to a higher or lower wavelength and justify your answer.

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7. (a) List the following types of electromagnetic radiation in order of increasing

wavelength (shortest first).

I Yellow light II Red light

III Infrared radiation IV Ultraviolet radiation

(b) Distinguish between a continuous spectrum and a line spectrum.

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Structure 1.3.3, 1.3.4 and 1.3.5 – Electron configurations

1. What is the electronic configuration of an atom with Z = 29?

A 1s22s22p63s23p63d9 B 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s1

C 1s22s22p63s23p63d94s2 D 1s22s22p63s23p63d94p2

2. What is the electronic configuration of the Cr3+ ions?

A [Ar]3d24s1 B [Ar]3d54s1

C [Ar]3d3 D [Ar]3d14s1

3. What order do the orbitals increase in energy within the same level?

A s<p<d<f B s<d<p<f

C d<f<p<s D f<d<p<s

4. How many unpaired electrons are there in the Ni2+ ion?

A 6 B 4

C 2 D 0

5. How many d electrons in total are present in an atom of iodine?

A 15 B 10

C 25 D 20

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6. Which is the correct order of orbital filling according to the Aufbau principle?

A 4s 4p 4d 4f B 4p 4d 5s 4f

C 4s 3d 4p 5s D 4d 4f 5s 5p

7. Which electron configuration is that of a transition metal atom in the ground state?

A. [Ne] 3s23p64s1
B. [Ar] 3d9
C. 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d104p2
D. [Ar] 4s13d5

8. State the full ground-state electron configuration of the following elements:

He
C
Mg
As
K
V
Cr
Cu
Co

9. State the full ground-state electron configuration of the following ions:

O2−
Cl−
Ti3+
Cu2+

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10. (a) State the full electron configuration for neon.

(b) State the formulas of two oppositely charged ions which have the same electron
configuration as neon.

11. State the abbreviated electron configuration using the previous noble gas core for:

Ni2+
Pb2+
S2−
Si4+

12. Using the ‘box’ format for the electron configuration of Mn.

3d

4s

3p

3s

2p

2s

1s

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Structure 1.3.6 and 1.3.7 – Ionization energies (HL only)

Calculate the value of the first IE from spectral data that gives the wavelength or frequency of the
convergence limit.

1. Sodium lamps used for street lighting emit a distinctive orange light with a wavelength
of 590nm. Calculate the energy produced by one mole of excited sodium atoms when
they give out orange light of this wavelength.

2. The convergence limits in the spectra of two single electron ions are shown in the table.
Use these values to calculate the ionization energy of the ions, kJ mol-1.

Frequency, f/ × 1016 s−1

Li2+ 2.97
Be3+ 5.27

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3. The lines in the ultraviolet emission spectrum of hydrogen gas converge at 9.12 × 10−8 m

(a) Use this value to calculate the ionization energy of hydrogen in kJ mol-1.

(b) Explain why the convergence line in the ultraviolet spectrum must be used to
calculate the ionization energy rather than the convergence line in the visible
spectrum.

4. Describe in your own words, how the first ionization energy of an atom can be
determined from its emission spectrum.

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Explain the trends and discontinuities in first ionization energy across a period and down a group.

5. State and explain the trend of the first ionization energies down the group from
lithium to caesium (Group 1).

6. Sketch a graph to show how the first ionization energies of the elements from lithium to
sodium vary with atomic number. Explain the general trend and discontinuities in these
energies and how it provides evidence for the existence of different energy levels
(containing different numbers of electrons) within the atom.

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7. State the full electronic configuration of aluminium and explain how the successive
ionization energy data for aluminium are related to its electron configuration.

Successive ionization energies for Al

6
5.5
5
4.5
Log IE

4
3.5
3
2.5
2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Number of electrons removed

8. The first four ionization energies for a particular element are 738, 1450, 7730 and 10 550
kJ mol-1 respectively. Deduce the group number of the element.

A 1 B 2

C 3 D 4

9. Successive ionization energies for an unknown element are given in the table.

1st IE / kJ mol-1 590

2nd IE / kJ mol-1 1145
3rd IE / kJ mol-1 4912
4th IE / kJ mol-1 6491

Identify the element.

A K B Ca

C S D Cl

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10. The successive ionization energies (in kJ mol-1) for carbon are shown in the table.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

1086 2352 4619 6220 37820 47280

(a) Explain why there is large increase between the 4th and 5th values.
(b) Explain why there is an increase between the second and third values.

11. Sketch a graph to show the expected pattern for the first seven ionisation energies of
fluorine.

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