Test Bank General Chemistry, 10th edition 1
Chapter 8 – Electron Configurations and Periodicity
1. The Pauli exclusion principle states that
A)
the wavelength of a photon of light times its frequency is equal to the speed of
light.
B)
no two electrons in the same atom can have the same set of four quantum numbers.
C)
both the position of an electron and its momentum cannot be known
simultaneously very accurately.
D)
the wavelength and mass of a subatomic particle are related by .
E)
an electron can have either particle character or wave character.
2. What is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy one p orbital?
A)
14
B)
2
C)
10
D)
1
E)
6
3. What is the maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in the n = 2 shell?
A)
8
B)
4
C)
16
D)
22
E)
24
4. Which of the following orbital occupancy designations is incorrect?
A)
3d7
B)
2p6
C)
4f6
D)
1s2
E)
4f15
5. The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in an f subshell is
A)
2.
B)
10.
C)
6.
D)
1.
E)
14.
6. What is the maximum number of electrons in an atom that have the set of quantum numbers
n= 1 and l= 0?
A)
6
B)
14
C)
10
D)
18
E)
2
7. Which of the following orbital diagrams violates the Pauli exclusion principle?
1s 2s 2p
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
8. Which principle or rule is violated by the following orbital diagram of an atom in its ground
state?
1s 2s 2p
A)
Pauli exclusion principle
B)
Aufbau principle
C)
No rules or principles are violated by this orbital diagram.
D)
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
E)
Hund’s rule
9. Which of the following electron configurations is impossible, according to the Pauli
exclusion principle?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
10. Which of the following statements is true concerning the electron configuration [Kr]5p2?
A)
This configuration cannot be the ground-state electron configuration for a Sr atom
because it violates the Pauli exclusion principle.
B)
This configuration cannot be the ground-state electron configuration for a Sr atom
because it violates Hund’s rule.
C)
This configuration is the ground-state electron configuration for a Sr atom.
D)
This configuration cannot be the ground-state electron configuration for a Sr atom
because it violates the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
E)
This configuration cannot be the ground-state electron configuration for a Sr atom
because it violates the Aufbau principle.
11. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A)
Stern and Gerlach discovered electron spin by passing silver atoms through a
magnetic field.
B)
Hund’s rule states that electrons are placed in the orbitals of a subshell in such a
way as to give a maximum number of unpaired electrons.
C)
The Pauli exclusion principle states that each electron in an atom must have its
own unique set of quantum numbers.
D)
Valence electrons consist of those electrons not contained within a noble-gas core
or a pseudo-noble-gas core.
E)
The building-up principle states that electrons are added to atoms in order of
increasing principal quantum number.
12. Which principle or rule is violated by the following orbital diagram of an atom in its ground
state?
1s 2s 2p
A)
Pauli exclusion principle
B)
Hund’s rule
C)
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
D)
No rules or principles are violated by this orbital diagram.
E)
Building-up principle
13. Which of the following electron configurations represents an excited state of the indicated
atom?
A)
Ne: 1s2 2s2 2p6
B)
N: 1s2 2s2 2p3
C)
P: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2 4s1
D)
Na: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2 3s1
E)
He: 1s2
14. Which of the following have one or more filled d subshells in their ground state electron
configuration?
A)
Ga
B)
Cl
C)
Si
D)
He
E)
Ar
15. Two elements that have the same ground-state valence shell configuration of ns2np2 are
A)
K and Mg.
B)
O and Se.
C)
Al and Ga.
D)
Ge and Pb.
E)
Mg and Ca.
16. Which element is found in the s-block of the periodic table?
A)
H
B)
Rn
C)
Mo
D)
Pr
E)
none of the above
17. According to the building-up principle or aufbau principle, which subshell is typically filled
next after the 3d subshell?
A)
4p
B)
5f
C)
6p
D)
5d
E)
1s
Test Bank General Chemistry, 10th edition 6
18. Which of the following electron configurations corresponds to the ground state of an atom
of a transition element?
A)
1s22s22p5
B)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p2
C)
1s22s22p63s23p63d64s2
D)
1s22s22p63s23p64s2
E)
1s22s22p63s23p4
19. The ground-state valence-shell configuration of a particular atom is . The
element to which this atom belongs is a
A)
noble gas.
B)
inner transition element.
C)
p-block main-group element.
D)
transition element.
E)
s-block main-group element.
20. The ground-state valence-shell configuration of a particular atom is . The
element to which this atom belongs is a
A)
noble gas.
B)
s-block main-group element.
C)
p-block main-group element.
D)
transition element.
E)
inner transition element.
21. The ground-state valence-shell configuration of a particular atom is 5s24d5. This valence-
shell electron configuration identifies the atom as
A)
a transition element.
B)
an inner transition element.
C)
an s-block main-group element.
D)
a p-block main-group element.
E)
a noble gas.
Test Bank General Chemistry, 10th edition 7
22. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A)
A p-block main-group element belonging to period n has a completely filled (n –
1)d subshell.
B)
All noble gases have completely filled shells.
C)
All s-block main-group elements have only one or two valence electrons.
D)
Carbon and silicon have the same number of valence electrons.
E)
All elements in the n = 4 period have a partially or completely filled n = 4 shell.
23. Which of the following statements is true concerning the electron configuration [Ne]3s13p1?
A)
It may represent a ground-state electron configuration of a Al+ cation.
B)
It may represent an excited-state electron configuration of a Mg atom.
C)
It may represent an excited-state electron configuration of a Ne– anion.
D)
It may represent a ground-state electron configuration of a Mg+ cation.
E)
It may represent a ground-state electron configuration of a Na+ cation.
24. Which of the following may represent an excited-state electron configuration for a cobalt
atom?
A)
[Ar]3d54s1
B)
[Ar]3d64s2
C)
[Ar]3d84s1
D)
[Ar]3d64s1
E)
[Ar]3d74s2
25. All of the following ground-state electron configurations are correct except
A)
.
B)
.
C)
.
D)
.
E)
.
26. What is the total number of electrons in p orbitals in a ground-state vanadium atom?
A)
6
B)
18
C)
12
D)
24
E)
30
27. Which ground-state electron configuration is incorrect?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
28. How many valence electrons does an arsenic atom have?
A)
5
B)
8
C)
7
D)
2
E)
33
Test Bank General Chemistry, 10th edition 9
29. Which of the following sets of four quantum numbers (n, l, ml, ms) correctly describes one of
the valence electrons in a ground-state radium atom?
A)
7 1 0
B)
6 1 1
C)
7 2 0
D)
7 2 0
E)
7 0 0 +
30. What is the ground-state electron configuration of tantalum (Ta)?
A)
1s22s22p63s23p64s24p64d104f145s25p3
B)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p3
C)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d104f145s25p65d36s2
D)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p65d3
E)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d104f3
31. What is the ground-state electron configuration of terbium (Tb)?
A)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p65d96s2
B)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d104f145s25p3
C)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p65d106s1
D)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d94f105s25p66s2
E)
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d104f95s25p66s2
32. What is the ground-state electron configuration of sulfur (S)?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
33. What noble gas core would be used when writing the ground state electron configuration for
tungsten (W)?
A)
[Xe]
B)
[Rn]
C)
[Kr]
D)
[Ar]
E)
[Ne]
34. If the electron could have a third spin state (that is, , –, and 0), what would be the ground-
state electron configuration of carbon?
A)
1s22s4
B)
1s22s32p1
C)
1s32s3
D)
1s22s22p2
E)
1s32s22p1
35. The elements that are filling the 5f subshell are called
A)
alkali metals.
B)
transition elements.
C)
lanthanides.
D)
actinides.
E)
main-group elements.
Test Bank General Chemistry, 10th edition 11
36. The quantum numbers of an atom’s highest-energy valence electrons are n = 5 and l = 1.
The element to which this atom belongs could be a
A)
inner transition metal.
B)
alkali metal.
C)
s-block main-group element.
D)
transition metal.
E)
p-block main-group element.
37. The angular momentum quantum number of the two highest-energy valence electrons in an
atom of germanium is
A)
4.
B)
0.
C)
1.
D)
2.
E)
3.
38. Which of the following sets of four quantum numbers (n, l, ml, ms) correctly describes an
electron occupying a d orbital of an element in the third row of the transition metals?
A)
4 2 2 +
B)
5 2 1 –
C)
5 3 –1
D)
4 1 0 –
E)
5 0 0 –
39. An element that has the same ground state valence-shell electron configuration as indium is
A)
boron.
B)
silicon.
C)
krypton.
D)
lithium.
E)
barium.
40. What is the valence-shell electron configuration for the fourth-period element in Group VA?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
41. The statement that “the lowest-energy configuration for an atom is the one having the
maximum number of unpaired electrons allowed by the Pauli principle in a particular set of
degenerate orbitals” is known as
A)
the aufbau principle.
B)
Hund’s rule.
C)
the Pauli exclusion principle.
D)
Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
E)
the quantum model.
42. Which principle or rule is violated by the following orbital diagram of an atom in its ground
state?
1s 2s 2p
A)
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
B)
No rules or principles are violated by this orbital diagram.
C)
aufbau principle
D)
Hund’s rule
E)
Pauli exclusion principle
43. The element whose atoms in the ground state have two half-filled orbitals is
A)
Na.
B)
Be.
C)
Tl.
D)
Po.
E)
Sb.
44. How many unpaired electrons are found in the ground state electron configuration of
selenium (Se)?
A)
2
B)
3
C)
5
D)
0
E)
1
45. Fe has ____ that is(are) unpaired in its d orbitals.
A)
2 electrons
B)
3 electrons
C)
1 electron
D)
4 electrons
E)
none of these
46. An atom of which of the following elements is not diamagnetic in the ground state?
A)
Ca
B)
Rn
C)
All are diamagnetic.
D)
Cd
E)
Pt
47. Which of the following orbital diagrams represent(s) a paramagnetic atom?
1s 2s 3s
1.
2.
3.
A)
3 only
B)
2 and 3
C)
1 only
D)
1 and 2
E)
2 only
48. Which of the following orbital diagrams represents a diamagnetic atom?
1s 2s 2p
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
49. The ground-state electron configuration of a . Therefore,
is
A)
paramagnetic with four unpaired electrons.
B)
diamagnetic.
C)
paramagnetic with one unpaired electron.
D)
paramagnetic with five unpaired electrons.
E)
paramagnetic with three unpaired electrons.