Sulfur’s Unpaired Electron Count: Delving Into The Atomic Realm
Sulfur, an element with atomic number 16, has six valence electrons in its electronic configuration (1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁴). According to the Pauli Exclusion Principle, electrons occupy orbitals in pairs, while Hund’s Rule states that they distribute to maximize unpaired electrons. Applying Hund’s Rule to sulfur’s p orbitals, we find that they each have one unpaired electron. Therefore,…