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QuestionChemistry

Give the full electron configuration for aluminum (Al). electron configuration:
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Step 1:
: The electron configuration of an element can be found using its atomic number, which is the number of protons in the nucleus.

Aluminum has an atomic number of 13.

Step 2:
: The electron configuration for aluminum follows the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill the lowest available energy levels before occupying higher ones.

The energy levels are labeled with principal quantum numbers (n= 1, 2, 3, ...). Each principal quantum number has a corresponding set of subshells labeled with azimuthal quantum numbers (l= 0, 1, 2, ...). For each subshell, there is a maximum number of electrons that can occupy it, given by the magnetic quantum number (m).

Step 3:
: For aluminum, we start by filling the 1s subshell (l= 0) with 2 electrons, then the 2s subshell (l= 0) with 2 electrons, followed by the 2p subshell (l= 1) with 6 electrons.

This accounts for the first 10 electrons.

Step 4:
: Now, we need to fill the 3s subshell (l= 0) with 2 electrons, which leaves us with 1 electron remaining to be placed.

Step 5:
: The final electron configuration for aluminum (Al) is:

1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^1

Final Answer

The electron configuration for aluminum is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^1.