What is the electron configuration of an oxygen atom? (2021)

What is the electron configuration of an oxygen atom? (2021)

Step 1: Understand that an oxygen atom has 8 electrons.
Step 2: Electrons are arranged in energy levels or shells around the nucleus.
Step 3: The first energy level can hold a maximum of 2 electrons. So, we fill this level first: 1s².
Step 4: The second energy level can hold a maximum of 8 electrons. We start filling this level next.
Step 5: In the second energy level, we fill the 2s orbital with 2 electrons: 2s².
Step 6: After filling the 2s orbital, we have 4 electrons left to place in the 2p orbital.
Step 7: We fill the 2p orbital with the remaining 4 electrons: 2p⁴.
Step 8: Combine all the filled orbitals to write the complete electron configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p⁴.

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