Question

1. base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the diagram below, which represents an atom of magnesium - 26 in the ground state. on the diagram below, write an appropriate number of electrons in each shell to represent a mg - 26 atom in an excited state. your answer may include additional shells.

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the number of electrons in a Mg atom

Magnesium has an atomic number of 12. In a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons. So, a Mg atom has 12 electrons.

Step2: Recall the electron - shell rules for an excited state

In the ground state, the electron configuration is \(2,8,2\). In an excited state, one or more electrons move to a higher - energy shell. For example, if one electron moves from the third shell to the fourth shell.

Answer:

One possible answer is \(2,8,1,1\) (where one electron is promoted from the third shell to the fourth shell). Another could be \(2,7,3\) (if one electron is promoted from the second shell to the third shell).