Answer to Question #197104 in General Chemistry for Moe

Question

How many filled p-orbitals are there in a Ne atom?

A. 0

B. 1

C. 6

D. 3

E. 2

Answer 1

Ne (Z = 10) is a neutral atom that has 10 electrons that will fill the orbitals according to the 'Aufbau principle' and by using the knowledge that (for the hydrogen atom) the energy of the orbitals increases as follows:

1s < 2s = 2p < 3s = 3p = 3d < 4s ...

Then when we analyze the electron configuration for Ne, we find that is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶, which means that only one p-orbital is filled with electrons.

In conclusion, answer B (1) is the correct one.

Reference:

• Chang, R. (2010). Chemistry. McGraw-Hill, New York.