Electron Configuration Chart for the Elements (2024)

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Electron Configurations of Atoms of Elements

Electron Configuration Chart for the Elements (1)

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Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Chemistry Expert

Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

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Key Takeaways: Electron Configurations

An atom's electron configuration describes the way its electrons fill sublevels when the atom is in its ground state.
Atoms seek the most stable electron configuration, so sublevels are half-filled or fully-filled whenever possible.
Rather than writing out the whole electron configuration, scientists use a shorthand notation that starts with the symbol for the noble gas before the element on the periodic table.

How to Determine Electron Configuration

To arrive at the electron configurations of atoms, you must know the order in which the different sublevels are filled. Electrons enter available sublevels in order of their increasing energy. A sublevel is filled or half-filled before the next sublevel is entered.

For example, thessublevel can only hold two electrons, so the 1sis filled at helium (1s²). Thepsublevel can hold six electrons, thedsublevel can hold 10 electrons, and thefsublevel can hold 14 electrons. The common shorthand notation is to refer to the noble gas core, rather than write out the entire configuration. For example, the configuration of magnesium could be written [Ne]3s², rather than writing out 1s²2s²2p⁶3s².

Electron Configuration Chart

No.	Element	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7
		s	s p	s p d	s p d f	s p d f	s p d f	s
1	H	1
2	He	2
3	Li	2	1
4	Be	2	2
5	B	2	2 1
6	C	2	2 2
7	N	2	2 3
8	O	2	2 4
9	F	2	2 5
10	Ne	2	2 6
11	Na	2	2 6	1
12	Mg	2	2 6	2
13	Al	2	2 6	2 1
14	Si	2	2 6	2 2
15	P	2	2 6	2 3
16	S	2	2 6	2 4
17	Cl	2	2 6	2 5
18	Ar	2	2 6	2 6
19	K	2	2 6	2 6 -	1
20	Ca	2	2 6	2 6 -	2
21	Sc	2	2 6	2 6 1	2
22	Ti	2	2 6	2 6 2	2
23	V	2	2 6	2 6 3	2
24	Cr	2	2 6	2 6 5*	1
25	Mn	2	2 6	2 6 5	2
26	Fe	2	2 6	2 6 6	2
27	Co	2	2 6	2 6 7	2
28	Ni	2	2 6	2 6 8	2
29	Cu	2	2 6	2 6 10	1*
30	Zn	2	2 6	2 6 10	2
31	Ga	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 1
32	Ge	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 2
33	As	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 3
34	Se	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 4
35	Br	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 5
36	Kr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6
37	Rb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 -	1
38	Sr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 -	2
39	Y	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 1	2
40	Zr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 2	2
41	Nb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 4*	1
42	Mo	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 5	1
43	Tc	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 6	1
44	Ru	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 7	1
45	Rh	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 8	1
46	Pd	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	0*
47	Ag	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	1
48	Cd	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2
49	In	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 1
50	Sn	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 2
51	Sb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 3
52	Te	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 4
53	I	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 5
54	Xe	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 6
55	Cs	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 6 - -	1
56	Ba	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10	2 6 - -	2
57	La	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 -	2 6 1 -	2
58	Ce	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 2*	2 6 - -	2
59	Pr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 3	2 6 - -	2
60	Nd	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 4	2 6 - -	2
61	Pm	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 5	2 6 - -	2
62	Sm	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 6	2 6 - -	2
63	Eu	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 7	2 6 - -	2
64	Gd	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 7	2 6 1 -	2
65	Tb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 9*	2 6 - -	2
66	Dy	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 10	2 6 - -	2
67	Ho	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 11	2 6 - -	2
68	Er	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 12	2 6 - -	2
69	Tm	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 13	2 6 - -	2
70	Yb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 - -	2
71	Lu	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 1 -	2
72	Hf	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 2 -	2
73	Ta	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 3 -	2
74	W	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 4 -	2
75	Re	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 5 -	2
76	Os	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 6 -	2
77	Ir	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 7 -	2
78	Pt	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 9 -	1
79	Au	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	1
80	Hg	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2
81	Tl	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 1 - -
82	Pb	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 2 - -
83	Bi	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 3 - -
84	Po	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 4 - -
85	At	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 5 - -
86	Rn	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 6 - -
87	Fr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 6 - -	1
88	Ra	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 6 - -	2
89	Ac	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 6 1 -	2
90	Th	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 -	2 6 2 -	2
91	Pa	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 2*	2 6 1 -	2
92	U	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 3	2 6 1 -	2
93	Np	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 4	2 6 1 -	2
94	Pu	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 6	2 6 - -	2
95	Am	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 7	2 6 - -	2
96	Cm	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 7	2 6 1 -	2
97	Bk	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 9*	2 6 - -	2
98	Cf	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 10	2 6 - -	2
99	Es	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 11	2 6 - -	2
100	Fm	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 12	2 6 - -	2
101	Md	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 13	2 6 - -	2
102	No	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 14	2 6 - -	2
103	Lr	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 14	2 6 1 -	2
104	Rf	2	2 6	2 6 10	2 6 10 14	2 6 10 14	2 6 2 -	2

* note the irregularity

You may also view the electron configurations of the elements on a printable periodic tableif desired.

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Your Citation

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Electron Configuration Chart." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/electron-configuration-chart-603975.Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, February 16). Electron Configuration Chart. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/electron-configuration-chart-603975Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Electron Configuration Chart." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/electron-configuration-chart-603975 (accessed September 4, 2024).

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