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ACSEE (Form 6) The Atom — practice questions

Explore 8 free The Atom questions in ACSEE (Form 6) Chemistry. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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The Atom questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–8 of 8.

The number of orbitals in the 2p and 3d subshells are, respectively:Read the answer and worked solution →The electronic configuration 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 2d¹ is impossible because:Read the answer and worked solution →The configuration 1s² 2s⁰ 2p⁰ 3s¹ violates which principle?Read the answer and worked solution →For electromagnetic radiation, the wavenumber is related to the wavelength by:Read the answer and worked solution →Fill the subshells in orderRead the answer and worked solution →Possible or impossible?Read the answer and worked solution →Match the rule to what it governsRead the answer and worked solution →Link the wave quantitiesRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The number of orbitals in the 2p and 3d subshells are, respectively:

  1. 2 and 3
  2. 6 and 10
  3. 3 and 5
  4. 3 and 10
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Correct answer: C. 3 and 5

1. The number of orbitals in a subshell follows from the magnetic quantum number. 2. A p subshell has three orientations, so 2p holds 3 orbitals. 3. A d subshell has five orientations, so 3d holds 5 orbitals. 4. Each orbital takes at most two electrons, so 2p holds 6 electrons and 3d holds 10. 5. Answering 6 and 10 confuses the electron capacity with the orbital count, which was the recorded error. _Source: NECTA ACSEE 2023 Chemistry 132/1, Question 4: The Atom_

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The electronic configuration 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 2d¹ is impossible because:

  1. the 2d subshell does not exist
  2. the 2p subshell cannot hold six electrons
  3. the 2s subshell must fill after 2p
  4. the total electron count is odd
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Correct answer: A. the 2d subshell does not exist

1. The subshells available in a shell are limited by its principal quantum number $n$. 2. For $n=2$ the allowed values of the azimuthal quantum number are 0 and 1, giving only s and p subshells. 3. A d subshell needs an azimuthal quantum number of 2, which first becomes available at $n=3$. 4. So 2d cannot exist, and any configuration naming it is impossible. 5. The 2p subshell holding six electrons is entirely correct, since three orbitals take two electrons each. _Source: NECTA ACSEE 2023 Chemistry 132/1, Question 4: The Atom_

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The configuration 1s² 2s⁰ 2p⁰ 3s¹ violates which principle?

  1. the Aufbau building-up principle
  2. the Pauli exclusion principle
  3. Hund's rule of maximum multiplicity
  4. the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
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Correct answer: A. the Aufbau building-up principle

1. The Aufbau principle says electrons fill the lowest available energy level first. 2. Here 2s and 2p are both empty while 3s, which lies higher in energy, holds an electron. 3. That electron should have entered 2s first, so the building-up order is broken. 4. Hund's rule governs how electrons spread within one subshell, which is not the issue here. 5. The Pauli principle forbids more than two electrons per orbital, and no orbital here is overfilled. _Source: NECTA ACSEE 2023 Chemistry 132/1, Question 4: The Atom_

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