Chemistry: Electron Configurations

Objectives

• Students will observe the electron configuration of atoms and discover the relationship between the electron configuration and the position of an element in the Periodic Table.
• Students will understand why elements in a group have similar chemical properties.
• Students will relate metallic and nonmetallic elements to electron configuration.

Vocabulary

• atomic number
• electron configuration
• metal and nonmetal
• noble gas
• octet rule
• period and group
• periodic table
• shells

About the Lesson

The importance of the shell model of the atom is highlighted in this lesson. It also features an interactive periodic table. Students use sliders to move around the table. The electron configuration of the element is displayed graphically. The electron configuration is also displayed in the standard textual form.
As a result, students will have a better understanding of the relationship between electron configuration:

• and the form of the periodic table,
• noble gases,
• and metals and non-metals.