Relationship between Energy Levels, Sublevels, Electrons, and Electron Configuration
Electrons occupy sub-levels within each energy level. These sublevels are classified by the letters s, p, d, f. The first energy level (n=1) has one sublevel, the second energy level has two sublevels, the third energy level has three and so on. The s sublevel can hold a maximum of two electrons, the p sublevel can hold six, the d sublevel holds up to 10 and the f sublevel can hold 14 electrons. Electrons start to fill sublevels starting from the lowest energy level which is the shell closest to the nucleus and then expands outward to larger energy levels which can house more electrons. The order of the different sublevels should be memorized in order to properly understand electron configuration which is used to see how electrons are distributed throughout different elements on the periodic table. We can use the Aufbau principle to see the order in which each sub-level is filled us with electrons. The table helps us. Order of Configurations = 1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s² , 3p⁶, 4s ², 3d