What is the ground-state electron configuration for carbon (C)?

• A. $C^0:1s^{2}2s^{1}2p^3$
• B. $C^0:1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^2$
• C. $C^0:1s^{2}2s^{2}3p^2$
• D. $C^0:1s^{2}2s^{2}2p^4$

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the atomic number of carbon (C), which tells you the total number of electrons in a neutral atom. Carbon has an atomic number of 6, so it has 6 electrons.
2. Recall the order in which electron orbitals are filled according to the Aufbau principle: electrons fill orbitals starting from the lowest energy level to higher ones. The order begins with 1s, then 2s, then 2p, and so on.
3. Fill the electrons into the orbitals following the order and the maximum number of electrons each orbital can hold: 1s can hold 2 electrons, 2s can hold 2 electrons, and 2p can hold up to 6 electrons.
4. Distribute the 6 electrons of carbon as follows: fill 2 electrons in the 1s orbital, 2 electrons in the 2s orbital, and place the remaining 2 electrons in the 2p orbital.
5. Write the ground-state electron configuration by combining the filled orbitals with their electron counts: \$1\,s^{2} 2\,s^{2} 2\,p^{2}$.