4. Describe the arrangement of the electrons on each energy level.

Explanation:

If the energy of an atom is increased, an electron in the atom gets excited. To go back to its ground state, the electron releases energy. The energy of the light released when an electron drops in energy level is the same as the difference in energy between the two levels.

Viewed simply, electrons are arranged in shells around an atom’s nucleus. Electrons closest to the nucleus will have the lowest energy. Electrons further away from the nucleus will have higher energy. An atom’s electron shell can accommodate 2n2 electrons (where n is the shell level).

In a more realistic model, electrons move in atomic orbitals, or subshells. There are four different orbital shapes: s, p, d, and f. Within each shell, the s subshell is at a lower energy than the p. An orbital diagram is used to determine an atom’s electron configuration.

There are guidelines for determining the electron configuration of an atom. An electron will move to the orbital with lowest energy. Each orbital can hold only one electron pair. Electrons will separate as much as possible within a shell.