Chemistry
Chemistry
Problem
For a ground-state phosphorus atom (electron configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3), identify which peak in its photoelectron spectrum will have the greatest relative height and state the subshell corresponding to that peak.Intuitive explanation
The height of a photoelectron peak directly reflects how many electrons occupy that subshell—more electrons mean a taller peak. Phosphorus has its electrons distributed across five different subshells, but one of them contains significantly more electrons than any other. Identify which subshell holds the most electrons, and you've found your answer. Remember that "relative height" is just another way of asking which peak represents the largest number of equivalent electrons.
Intuitive explanation
The height of a photoelectron peak directly reflects how many electrons occupy that subshell—more electrons mean a taller peak. Phosphorus has its electrons distributed across five different subshells, but one of them contains significantly more electrons than any other. Identify which subshell holds the most electrons, and you've found your answer. Remember that "relative height" is just another way of asking which peak represents the largest number of equivalent electrons.