Question

The four most abundant elements by mass in the human body are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. These four elements make up about $96\mathrm{\%}$ of the human body. The next four most abundant elements are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Write the expected ground-state electron configurations for these eight most abundant elements in the human body.

Short answer

The ground-state electron configurations for the eight most abundant elements in the human body are: - Hydrogen (H): $1s^1$ - Carbon (C): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^2$ - Oxygen (O): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^4$ - Nitrogen (N): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^3$ - Magnesium (Mg): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^2$ - Phosphorus (P): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^3$ - Potassium (K): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^1$ - Calcium (Ca): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^2$

Step-by-step solution

Find the atomic number of each element using the periodic table

Using the periodic table, find the atomic numbers (number of protons) for each element. The atomic numbers are: - Oxygen (O): 8 - Carbon (C): 6 - Hydrogen (H): 1 - Nitrogen (N): 7 - Calcium (Ca): 20 - Phosphorus (P): 15 - Magnesium (Mg): 12 - Potassium (K): 19

Determine the electron configuration for each element

Apply the Aufbau principle, Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund's rule along with the periodic table to write the electron configurations for each element: 1. Hydrogen (H) has atomic number 1. Hence, it has 1 electron. Electron configuration: $$1s^1$$ 2. Carbon (C) has atomic number 6. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^2$$ 3. Oxygen (O) has atomic number 8. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^4$$ 4. Nitrogen (N) has atomic number 7. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^3$$ 5. Magnesium (Mg) has atomic number 12. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^2$$ 6. Phosphorus (P) has atomic number 15. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^3$$ 7. Potassium (K) has atomic number 19. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^1$$ 8. Calcium (Ca) has atomic number 20. Electron configuration: $$1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^2$$ In conclusion, the ground-state electron configurations for the eight most abundant elements in the human body are: - Hydrogen (H): $1s^1$ - Carbon (C): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^2$ - Oxygen (O): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^4$ - Nitrogen (N): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^3$ - Magnesium (Mg): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^2$ - Phosphorus (P): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^3$ - Potassium (K): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^1$ - Calcium (Ca): $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^2$