Question

Hund's rule states that the electron configuration with the lowest-energy will have the maximum possible number of unpaired electrons. Which of the elements below would require special attention to this rule to correctly depict the orbital diagram?

H
He
N
Be

Answer 1

Nitrogen (N) requires special attention to Hund's rule when determining its electron configuration, as it has three p electrons that must be placed in separate orbitals before any pairing occurs.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hund's rule is essential in determining the electron configuration of elements. This rule states that electrons will occupy degenerate orbitals (orbitals of the same energy within a sublevel) one at a time with parallel spins before any orbital is fully occupied by a second electron. Out of the elements provided (H, He, N, Be), Nitrogen (N) would require special attention to Hund's rule to correctly depict its orbital diagram, mainly because it has a p subshell that can hold up to six electrons.

The electron configuration of nitrogen is 1s2 2s2 2p3. According to Hund's rule, the three electrons in the 2p orbitals should be placed one in each of the three p orbitals with their spins parallel before any pairing occurs.

This contrasts with the electron configurations of H (1s1), He (1s2), and Be (1s2 2s2), which do not involve p orbitals or the need to distribute electrons across degenerate orbitals, since in these cases either the s orbitals are being filled or there is only one electron in the case of hydrogen.