Subatomic Smackdown
This positively charged particle defines an element's identity.
What is a proton?
This quantum number describes the main energy level of an electron (n=1,2,3...).
What is the principal quantum number?
The principle that electrons fill the lowest energy orbitals first.
What is the Aufbau principle?
This word describes an element's ability to be hammered into thin sheets.
What is malleable?
The charge on an ion formed when a Group 1 alkali metal atom loses its valence electron.
What is +1?
The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus.
What is the mass number?
The shape of an orbital (s, p, d, f) is determined by this quantum number.
What is the angular momentum quantum number (l)?
The rule that states electrons will occupy empty orbitals in a sublevel before pairing up.
What is Hund's Rule?
The family name for the highly reactive elements in Group 17.
What are the halogens?
The type of bond formed when two atoms share a pair of electrons.
What is a covalent bond?
These are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
What are isotopes?
The rule that says no two electrons in the same atom can have the same four quantum numbers.
What is the Pauli Exclusion Principle?
The noble gas configuration for Strontium (Sr, atomic #38).
What is [Kr] 5s²?
These elements touch the "stair-step" line and have properties of both metals and nonmetals.
What are metalloids?
The number of dots you would draw in a Lewis structure for an atom of Argon (Ar).
What is 8? (It has a full octet)
This neutral particle contributes to an atom's mass but not its charge or identity.
What is a neutron?
This is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy a single d-orbital.
What is 2?
The full electron configuration for a neutral atom of Silicon (Si, atomic #14).
What is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p²?
This group contains elements that are very reactive, have two valence electrons, and form +2 ions.
What are the alkaline earth metals (Group 2)?
The driving force behind the Octet Rule; atoms want the same configuration as these elements.
What are the noble gases?
If an atom has 17 protons, 18 neutrons, and 18 electrons, its overall charge is this.
What is -1? (It's a Cl⁻ ion)
For an electron in a 3p orbital, the possible values for its magnetic quantum number (mₗ)
-1, 0, and +1?
The number of unpaired electrons in an atom of Phosphorus (P) in its ground state.
What is 3?
The reason why atomic radius decreases as you move from left to right across a period.
What is increasing nuclear charge (more protons pulling electrons closer)?
This property, which generally increases up a group for nonmetals, explains why Fluorine is more reactive than Iodine.
What is electronegativity?