Question

draw the orbital diagram for a neutral potassium atom. write the electron - configuration: # of unpaired electrons

Explanation:

Step1: Determine potassium's atomic number

Potassium (K) has atomic number 19.

Step2: Fill orbitals using Aufbau principle

1s orbital is filled first with 2 electrons (paired). Then 2s with 2 electrons (paired), 2p with 6 electrons (3 pairs), 3s with 2 electrons (paired), 3p with 6 electrons (3 pairs), and finally 4s with 1 un - paired electron.

Step3: Write electron configuration

The electron configuration is $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^{1}$.

Step4: Draw orbital diagram

In the orbital diagram: 1s has 1 box with 2 paired electrons (arrows in opposite directions), 2s has 1 box with 2 paired electrons, 2p has 3 boxes with 6 electrons (3 pairs), 3s has 1 box with 2 paired electrons, 3p has 3 boxes with 6 electrons (3 pairs), and 4s has 1 box with 1 un - paired electron (1 arrow).

Answer:

Electron configuration: $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^{6}3s^{2}3p^{6}4s^{1}$
Orbital diagram: 1s: ↑↓, 2s: ↑↓, 2p: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓, 3s: ↑↓, 3p: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓, 4s: ↑
Number of unpaired electrons: 1