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in the ground state, which of these elements has exactly one empty p orbital in its valence shell? O beryllium O oxygen O nitrogen boron O carbon dioksida

User Ralien
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2 Answers

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Final answer:

Boron has exactly one empty p orbital in its valence shell in the ground state.

Step-by-step explanation:

The element that has exactly one empty p orbital in its valence shell in the ground state is boron. Boron has the electron configuration 2s²2p¹. It has one less valence electron than it has valence orbitals, resulting in one empty p orbital.

User Stefano Dalpiaz
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8.3k points
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Final answer:

Boron is the element that has exactly one empty p orbital in its valence shell in the ground state, with an electron configuration of 2s² 2p¹.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks which element in the ground state has exactly one empty p orbital in its valence shell. The elements given are beryllium, oxygen, nitrogen, boron, and carbon dioxide (although carbon dioxide is not an element, so we will consider carbon). Based on the electron configurations provided: Beryllium has a full 2s orbital and no electrons in the 2p orbitals in the ground state. Oxygen's 2p orbitals are more than half-filled in the ground state. Nitrogen has half-filled 2p orbitals in the ground state, with one electron in each. Boron has one electron in the 2p orbital in the ground state, leaving one empty p orbital. Carbon has two electrons in the 2p orbitals in the ground state, and hence it does not have an empty p orbital. Therefore, boron is the correct answer as it has an electron configuration of 2s² 2p¹, indicating one electron in a 2p orbital and thus one empty p orbital in the ground state.

User Reason
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