Question

In what order do electrons fill orbitals in an orbital diagram?They spread out, waiting until each orbital has one electron before doubling up.Electrons don’t fill orbitals; protons and neutrons fill orbitals.They fill the orbitals in random order; you cannot predict exactly where they’ll be.They double up first, then move on to the next orbital when the first is full.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The question requires us to choose the option that best explains in what order electrons fill orbitals in an orbital diagram.

According to the building-up principle (also known as Aufbau rule), electrons fill atomic orbitals of the lowest available energy level before occupying higher-energy levels. Additionally, Hund's rule states that every orbital in a sublevel is singly occupied before any orbital is doubly occupied.

These principles tell us that electrons have an order to fill orbitals (from the lowest energy level then higher-energy levels) and that an electron do not "pair" with another electron unless all orbitals from that energy level are singly occupied.

Therefore, considering the information above and the options given by the question, we can make the following comments:

a) "They spread out, waiting until each orbital has one electron before doubling up" - This option is correct, as it summarizes the Hund's principle;

b) "