BRAINCAKEOrder of filling orbitals
No atomic orbital can hold more than two electrons.
Electrons have a property called spin. The Pauli exclusion principle states that two electrons can only occupy the same orbital if they have opposite spin. Atomic orbitals with lower energy are filled first.
Hund's rule states that atomic orbitals of the same energy fill singly before pairing starts.
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Key terms in this lesson
- Atomic orbital
- A region in space around the nucleus where there is a 95% probability of finding an electron of a given energy.
More in Atomic Structure
- Mass Spectrometer in Space
- Quantum Mechanics
- Energy Levels
- Atomic Orbitals
- Electron Configuration
- First Ionisation Energy
- Successive Ionisation Energies
- Trends in First Ionisation Energy Across a Period
All 22 lessons in Atomic Structure · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics