Question

What is the electronic distribution in an atom x when the atomic number of an element x is 14 and its relative atomic mass is 28?

Answer 1

The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in its nucleus, which also determines the number of electrons in a neutral atom. In this case, the atomic number of element X is 14. Therefore, a neutral atom of element X will have 14 electrons.

To determine the electronic distribution or electron configuration of element X, we can use the periodic table as a reference. The electron configuration can be represented by listing the orbitals and the number of electrons in each orbital.

For element X (atomic number 14), the electron configuration can be written as follows:

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p²

Let's break down the electron configuration:

• The first shell (n = 1) has a maximum of 2 electrons, so it is filled with 2 electrons in the 1s orbital: 1s².

• The second shell (n = 2) has a maximum of 8 electrons. It is filled as follows: 2s² 2p⁶. The 2s orbital can hold 2 electrons, and the 2p orbital can hold 6 electrons.

• The third shell (n = 3) also has a maximum of 8 electrons. In this case, 3s² 3p². The 3s orbital can hold 2 electrons, and the 3p orbital can hold 6 electrons.

Therefore, the electronic distribution in atom X, with an atomic number of 14, is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p².