Write the electron configuration (s, p, etc.) of the nitrogen atom. - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question 5 (a) - 2004

To determine the electron configuration of a nitrogen atom, we start by noting that nitrogen has an atomic number of 7. This means it has 7 electrons.

The electron configuration is built according to the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons fill orbitals starting from the lowest energy level to the highest.

1. The first two electrons fill the 1s orbital:

   $1s^2$

2. The next two electrons fill the 2s orbital:

   $2s^2$

3. The remaining three electrons will fill the 2p orbital:

   $2p^3$

Putting this all together, the complete electron configuration for nitrogen is:

$1s^2 2s^2 2p^3$

This notation clearly shows how the electrons are distributed among the various atomic orbitals.