What is the ground-state electron configuration for silicon (Si)?

• A. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}63^{s}13^{p}3$
• B. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}63^{s}23^{p}6$
• C. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}63^{s}23^{p}2$
• D. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}63^{s}23^{p}4$

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the atomic number of silicon (Si), which tells you the total number of electrons to place in the electron configuration. Silicon has an atomic number of 14, so it has 14 electrons.
2. Recall the order in which electron orbitals are filled according to the Aufbau principle: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, and so on. Electrons fill the lowest energy orbitals first.
3. Distribute the 14 electrons into the orbitals following the order and the maximum number of electrons each orbital can hold: 1s can hold 2, 2s can hold 2, 2p can hold 6, 3s can hold 2, and 3p can hold 6.
4. Write the electron configuration by listing each orbital with its superscript indicating the number of electrons in that orbital. For example, 1s^2 means the 1s orbital has 2 electrons.
5. Verify that the total number of electrons in your configuration adds up to 14 and that the electrons are placed according to the correct filling order and maximum capacities.