What is the ground-state electron configuration of sulfur (S) using noble-gas shorthand notation?

• A. $\left[Ne\right]3^{s}23^{p}4$
• B. $\left[Ar\right]4^{s}23^{d}4$
• C. $\left[He\right]2^{s}22^{p}4$
• D. $\left[Ne\right]3^{s}23^{p}6$

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the atomic number of sulfur (S), which is 16. This tells you the total number of electrons to place in the electron configuration.
2. Recall the order of filling electron orbitals based on the Aufbau principle: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, and so on.
3. Write the full electron configuration for sulfur by filling orbitals in order until you reach 16 electrons: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴.
4. Use noble-gas shorthand notation by replacing the configuration of the previous noble gas with its symbol. The noble gas before sulfur is neon (Ne), which has 10 electrons: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶.
5. Express the shorthand configuration as \([\mathrm{Ne}]\,3s^{2}\,3p^{4}\), representing the electrons beyond neon for sulfur.