Question

when writing electron configurations, you always start with and work your way over from to until you get to. how does the order of writing electron configurations connect to the order of atomic numbers?

Explanation:

Electron configurations start with the lowest - energy orbitals. We fill orbitals from lower to higher energy levels until all electrons (corresponding to the atomic number) are accounted for. The atomic number is the number of protons and also the number of electrons in a neutral atom. The order of filling orbitals (1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, etc.) is based on the Aufbau principle which dictates that electrons occupy the lowest - energy orbitals available first. As the atomic number increases, more electrons are added following this energy - based orbital - filling order.

Answer:

When writing electron configurations, you always start with the lowest - energy orbital (1s) and work your way over from lower - energy orbitals to higher - energy orbitals until you get to the number of electrons equal to the atomic number. The order of writing electron configurations follows the order of increasing energy of orbitals. As the atomic number increases, more electrons are added to the orbitals in the order of increasing energy, following the Aufbau principle.