Question 1

Why does the 4s orbital fill before the 3d orbital?

Accepted Answer

Due to shielding and penetration effects, the 4s orbital is actually at a slightly lower energy level than the 3d orbitals. The Aufbau principle dictates that we fill the lowest energy orbitals first, so electrons go into 4s before starting on 3d. However, once electrons are in the 3d orbitals, the relative energy levels shift, which is why when forming ions, 4s electrons are removed first.

Question 2

What does 'degenerate' mean in the context of orbitals?

Accepted Answer

Degenerate orbitals are orbitals that have the exact same energy. For example, the three p orbitals in a given sub-shell ($p_x, p_y, p_z$) are degenerate. Hund's rule applies to the filling of degenerate orbitals.

Question 3

Do I need to know the shapes of the d-orbitals for the A-Level exam?

Accepted Answer

No. For Cambridge A-Level Chemistry (9701), you are required to know and be able to sketch the shapes of s and p orbitals, but you only need to know that d-orbitals have more complex shapes. You are not expected to draw them.

Question 4

What is noble gas notation, e.g., [Ar]?

Accepted Answer

It's a shorthand way of writing electron configurations. Instead of writing out the full configuration from 1s, you can use the symbol of the preceding noble gas in square brackets to represent the core electrons. For example, for Sodium ($1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^1$), the configuration of Neon is $1s^2 2s^2 2p^6$. So, you can write Sodium's configuration as $[Ne] 3s^1$.

Electrons, energy levels and atomic orbitals

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The Atom's Electron Hotel