The atomic number of 10 corresponds to the element neon (Ne). The electron configuration describes the arrangement of electrons in the energy levels or orbitals of an atom.
Neon (Ne) has 10 electrons. The possible electron configurations for a neutral neon atom are as follows:
Full electron configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ This configuration represents the filling of all available energy levels up to the second energy level (n=2). The first energy level (n=1) is filled with 2 electrons in the 1s orbital, and the second energy level (n=2) is filled with 8 electrons distributed between the 2s and 2p orbitals.
Condensed electron configuration: [He] 2s² 2p⁶ This configuration makes use of the noble gas notation, where [He] represents the electron configuration of a helium (He) atom, which has 2 electrons. The remaining 8 electrons are then added in the 2s and 2p orbitals.
Both configurations are equivalent and describe the same electron arrangement in the neon atom.