Question

What is the electron configuration of the second excited state of lithium?

Short answer

The electronic configuration of second excited state for lithium atom is$1s^{2}3s^1$

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Given information

The number of possible electrons in $s$orbital (or shell) is 2 ,

the number of possible electrons in $p$orbital (or shell) is 6 ,

the number of possible electrons in orbital (or shell) is 10,

and the number of possible electrons in $g$orbital (or shell) is 14 .

Step 2. Explanation

We must determine the electron configuration of lithium's second exited state.

In the ground state, the lithium atom (Z= 3) contains two electrons in the 1s shell and one electron in the 2s shell.

For the first excited state of lithium, the electron configuration is:

$1s^{2}2p$

As a result, the electron configuration for lithium's second excited state is:

$1s^{2}3s$