Easy Ways to Find the EC of First 30 Elements

Chemistry is a subject that contains a lot of things. It has multiple topics as well that might seem annoying and a lot to read and remember. But, if you consider it as fun and a bit of a challenging game, you can easily get a hold of every concept.

Some tricks, tips, and shortcuts can help you learn and memorise the names and electronic configuration (EC) of the periodic table. The EC of the first 30 elements of the periodic table might seem hard if you look at it, but with little tricks, it can be very simple to understand and easy to remember. Let us dig into more information for a better understanding.

What is the electronic configuration of elements?

Electronic configuration (EC) means distribution or a pattern in which the electrons arrange themselves in an atom or an element. As we know, electrons revolve around the atom’s nucleus; they revolve around them in certain notions around the orbitals. Writing the EC can be tricky, but with simple tricks, it is easy to understand. Before writing EC, you should know some basic things like:

1. Remember the first 30 elements of the periodic table: It is essential to remember the first 30 elements in a periodic table. Of course, you can use the tricks of the first letters of the elements to remember it better but, whatever the process may be. You should remember the first 30 elements first to answer in your exam.
2. Remember their atomic number: Since we calculate EC based on the number of electrons based on atomic number, it is important to know the atomic number of the elements. Once you remember the first 30 elements line-wise, it will be easy to get their atomic number.
3. Number of electrons in subshells: You may already know that the subshells can contain a fixed maximum number of electrons. You can note down that the subshells “s, p, d, f, etc.” contain  2, 6, 10, 14, and so on numbers of electrons on it.

Tips for writing the EC of the first 30 elements easily:

1. Learn the Pattern: You can learn from the fundamental way. That is from the pattern. I know it can sound lame to you. But you can easily remember the series 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p. Everything was in series until 3d came in between the 4s and 4p. There is a reason behind this, but it is a lot to take. You can remember from this simple series that you have to fill in the electrons as per this.

Example: Sulphur (16): 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴ or you can also write it in a short form as [S] 3s² 3p⁴.

2. Understand from the Pyramid: A short pyramid depicts the arrangement of electrons in the subshell. While writing the EC, the electrons assign themselves in the arrowed patterns.
3. Sort the table: The tabular form of data is sometimes very useful for understanding and remembering the electronic configurations in a better way. The EC of the first 30 elements of the periodic table is:

You might notice from Potassium that 4s is filled before 3d. It’s upon you if you want that column before 3d for better understanding. Note that there are 2 exceptions: Cr and Cu.

4. Acronym trick: You can form another pyramid from a simple trick by following the first letter. You can form 4 rows. You can remember the lines seed-seed, pea seed-pea seed, double pea seed-double pea seed, and fruit double pea seed fruit-double pea seed.

It sounds funny but will be easy to remember. Next, you can use this and write it as under:

1          2          3          4         5          6          7         8

1          s          s

2          p          s          p          s

3          d          p          s          d          p          s

4          f           d          p          s          f           d          p          s

You can then assign the numbers to the row and column. Remember, the number placed before the subshell start from the column number as below:

1          1s        2s

2          2p        3s        3p        4s

3          3d        4p        4s        5d        5p        6s

4          4f         5d        5p        6s        6f         7d        7p        8s

Now, start assigning the number of electrons each subshell can accommodate. For example, Potassium (K) has an atomic number: 19. The EC of K will be: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s¹.

5. Try the graphics card: The visual effects create a great impact on the learning process. You can also try putting on some colours or preparing flashcards to help you learn the EC easily.

The takeaways: 

1. Try to take things slowly. Do not rush for every information at once.
2. Try to learn why it is done before learning how it is done.
3. It might seem complex at first. Don’t get scared; the good thing is, it can’t eat you.
4. Give it undivided attention.
5. Have time to finish from the basics. Don’t grab it from the surface.

The final inference

If you are learning something, go from scratch. Have the proper knowledge from the basics. If you directly jump on how to find the EC of elements, you may be able to memorise or form an overview of the table, but in a later stage, you might get confused. If you start from the basics, you will understand all the what, why and how’s of the topic.

It not only helps you ace the exam but will also make you confident enough to take tricky questions if they come into the paper. At the least, there is no substitute for hard work. Try all the tips and tricks and see if it helps you understand the concept better or not.