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

• A. $1^{s}22^{s}12^{p}3$
• B. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}6$
• C. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}2$
• D. $1^{s}22^{s}22^{p}4$

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the atomic number of carbon, which is 6. This means a neutral carbon atom has 6 electrons to arrange in its electron configuration.
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, followed by 2p orbitals.
3. Fill the 1s orbital first, which can hold up to 2 electrons, so write \$1\text{s}^2$.
4. Next, fill the 2s orbital, which can also hold up to 2 electrons, so write \$2\text{s}^2$.
5. Finally, place the remaining electrons in the 2p orbitals. Since carbon has 6 electrons total, after filling 1s and 2s orbitals (4 electrons), place the remaining 2 electrons in the 2p orbitals, resulting in \$2\text{p}^2$.