Sulfur has an atomic number of 16. What is the electron configuration for an electronically neutral atom of sulfur?

1 Answer
Bio
Nov 11, 2015

S: #1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{4}#

Explanation:

Fill the orbitals from lowest energy to highest energy.

Aufbau's Principle

upload.wikimedia.org

Image from upload.wikimedia.org.

#s# orbital can hold up to 2 electrons.
#p# orbital can hold up to 6 electrons.
#d# orbital can hold up to 10 electrons.
#f# orbital can hold up to 14 electrons.

When the lowest orbital is filled, move on to the next lowest energy unfilled orbital.

Related questions
See all questions in Electron Configuration
Impact of this question
10771 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License