name the electronic configuration of carbon atom in the exited state
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer:
The electronic configuration of a carbon atom in the excited state is:
1s² 2s¹ 2p³
Explanation:
Carbon is an element with atomic number 6, which means it has 6 electrons. In its ground state, the electrons are distributed in the lowest energy orbitals possible, giving the configuration:
1s² 2s² 2p²
In this ground state, the 1s orbital holds 2 electrons, the 2s orbital holds 2 electrons, and the 2p orbitals hold 2 electrons, usually one in each of two p orbitals. However, for bonding purposes, especially when forming covalent bonds like in methane (CH₄), the carbon atom needs to promote one of its 2s electrons to an empty 2p orbital.
This promotion leads to the excited state, where the electron configuration becomes:
1s² 2s¹ 2p³
Now the second energy level has one electron in the 2s orbital and three unpaired electrons in the 2p orbitals. This arrangement allows carbon to form four covalent bonds, because it now has four unpaired electrons available for bonding. This excited configuration is important in chemical bonding and explains how carbon forms stable compounds like methane, where it makes four equivalent bonds.
In molecular orbital theory and hybridization models, this excited configuration allows carbon to undergo sp³ hybridization, where one 2s and three 2p orbitals mix to form four equivalent hybrid orbitals. Each of these orbitals forms a sigma bond with hydrogen atoms in CH₄. Thus, the excited state of carbon is critical for its tetravalent bonding nature, which is the basis of organic chemistry.
Although the excited state is not the most stable, it becomes favorable when carbon participates in bond formation, as the energy cost of promoting the electron is compensated by the energy released during bond formation.