Questions: An atomic anion with a charge of -1 has the following electron configuration: [Ne] 3 s^2 3 p^4 What is the chemical symbol for the ion? How many electrons does the ion have? How many 3 p electrons are in the ion?

An atomic anion with a charge of -1 has the following electron configuration:
[Ne] 3 s^2 3 p^4

What is the chemical symbol for the ion?

How many electrons does the ion have?
How many 3 p electrons are in the ion?

Transcript text: An atomic anion with a charge of -1 has the following electron configuration: $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{~s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{4}$ What is the chemical symbol for the ion? How many electrons does the ion have? How many $3 p$ electrons are in the ion?

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Determine the Element from the Electron Configuration

The given electron configuration for the anion is $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{4}$. This configuration indicates that the element has the same electron configuration as neon ($[\mathrm{Ne}]$) plus additional electrons in the $3s$ and $3p$ orbitals.

The configuration $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{4}$ corresponds to the element sulfur (S) in its neutral state, which has the configuration $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{4}$.

Step 2: Identify the Anion

The problem states that the ion has a charge of $-1$. This means the neutral sulfur atom has gained one additional electron, resulting in the configuration $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{5}$. Therefore, the chemical symbol for the ion is $\mathrm{S}^{-}$.

Step 3: Calculate the Number of Electrons in the Ion

A neutral sulfur atom has 16 electrons. Since the ion has a charge of $-1$, it has gained one additional electron, making the total number of electrons:

\[ 16 + 1 = 17 \]

Step 4: Determine the Number of $3p$ Electrons

The electron configuration $[\mathrm{Ne}] 3 \mathrm{s}^{2} 3 \mathrm{p}^{5}$ indicates that there are 5 electrons in the $3p$ orbital.