Question

Write the ground- state electron configuration for a neutral carbon atom, and for an excited state of carbon?

Answer 1

Hint: Electron configuration of an element tells about the arrangement of electrons in atomic orbital. There are two states for an electron i.e. ground state and an excited state. Ground state is basically explained as the normal state, the state in which electrons are present in normal conditions.

Complete answer:
The electronic configuration of an element describes the distribution of electrons in its atomic orbitals. It follows a standard notation in which all the electrons present in the atomic subshell are placed in a sequence. The number of electrons present in the atomic subshell are written in a subscript. Electronic configurations are useful for determining valency of an element, predict the chemical properties of elements, and interpret the atomic spectra.
The ground electronic state configuration of an element in which the electrons are present in the lowest possible energy states. It is the same as the regular configuration. The electrons have the lowest potential energy in this state.
The excited state electron configuration shows when an electron is excited and jumps into a higher orbital. They are the higher energy state than the ground state.
In this question, we have to write both electronic configuration i.e. ground state and excited state for a neutral carbon atom. Neutral carbon indicates that it has zero charge. A neutral carbon has six proton (positive charge) and six electrons (negative charge), so the total net charge is zero.
Carbon is the sixth element according to the periodic table. It has six electrons so its atomic number $$Z$$ is$$6$$. So, the ground state electronic configuration is$$1s^2,2s^2,2p^2$$. The excited state electronic configuration is $$1s^2,2s^1,2p^3$$ . In the excited state, the electron of $$2s$$ -orbital (lower energy state) excites and jumps to the $$p$$ -orbital (higher energy state).

Note:
When the carbon is in an excited state then it undergoes chemical bonding and forms four covalent bonds. For example – methane $$(C{H}_4)$$. We can predict the electronic configuration of any element using a periodic table. The periodic table formed is based on the electronic configuration of an element.