Which one of the following options gives the correct electron structure of the particle _8^{16}O^{2-}?
A. 1s^22s^22p^63s^23p^4
B. 1s^22s^22p^4
C. 1s^22s^22p^2
D. 1s^22s^22p^63s^23p^6
E. 1s^22s^22p^6
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This question is relatively straightforward if you know how to find the electron structure of different elements. You must memorize the order and how the elements fill the different orbitals. For tricks on how to memorize, you can find a chart online where you write out all of the different orbitals based on column, then draw diagonal lines and you’ll see the clear order. Search for ‘electron structure order chart’.
s = 2 electrons
p = 6 electrons
d = 10 electrons
e = 14 electrons
Basic Order:
1s^22s^22p^63s^23p^64s^23d^{10}4p^65s^24d^{10}5p^66s^24f^{14}5d^{10}6p^67s^2
What is the general electron structure of oxygen?
Oxygen has 8 electrons, and we know this because there is 8 protons (atomic number was given to us which = protons = electrons)
1s^22s^22p^4
Now, we need to add two electrons because oxygen has a charge of -2
So it becomes:
1s^22s^22p^6
\fcolorbox{red}{grey!30}{Therefore the answer is E}
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