Question

The picture is a model of a nitrogen atom. What is incorrect about the atomic orbital arrangement of electrons in this model and how should they be arranged?

Answer 1

Well, nitrogen has 7 electrons. You know that the 1st shell has 2, so the remainder (5) must go into the 2nd shell (which has a maximum capacity of 8 electrons, arranged into 2 in the 2s and 6 in the 2p). What you end up with is: 1s^2, 2s^2, 2p^3.

Answer 2

Hello!

The electrons are incorrectly placed in the same orbital shell.

Why?

The electronic configuration of Nitrogen is: 1s²2s²2p³

That means that there are 3 orbitals in a Nitrogen atom:

1. Orbital 1s: 2 electrons
2. Orbital 2s: 2 electrons
3. Orbital 2p: 3 electrons

So, the electrons should be arranged in 3 different electron shells. Please check the attached image.

Have a nice day!