What is s p d and f in electronic configuration?

Answer 1

S, P, D, and F are the letters assigned to the four different orbital shapes. An orbital is the area around the nucleus of an atom where you find electrons. Not all atoms have the four shapes though; the most basic elements (Hydrogen, with one electron for example) start with the S shape only, and add more shapes, as they become more complex, adding in order of S, P, D, and finally F. Each orbital has a limit to how many electrons it can hold: S can only hold 2 electrons, P holds 6, D holds 10, and F holds 14. The S orbital is spherical, P looks something like a peanut, and D like a doughnut. The F orbital is very complex, rarely used, and only found in elements with very high atomic numbers.

Answer 2

Poorly worded question which makes little sense. Most elements have electrons in those sublevels, but elements are not contained within the sublevels, only electrons. For example, H has a single electron in a S sublevel, while Uranium has electrons in all of those sublevels, in many shells. The question is sort of like "How many ducks are there in a feather". Makes no sense.

Answer 3

these are sub shells of an atom, where 's' stands for 'sharp' and has 2 electrons, 'p' stands for 'principal' and has 6 electrons, 'd' stands for 'diffuse' and has 10 electrons, 'f' stands for 'fundamental' and has 14 electrons.

Answer 4

s, p, d, and f are sublevels within the main energy levels (shells) in an atom. These sublevels represent the different shapes of the orbitals where electrons are found. The s sublevel can hold up to 2 electrons, the p sublevel can hold up to 6 electrons, the d sublevel can hold up to 10 electrons, and the f sublevel can hold up to 14 electrons.

Answer 5

The s stands for spherical; the p stands for principle; the d stands for diffused; and the f stands for fundamental.

Answer 6

s is from sharp, p from principal, d from diffuse, f from fine; these were old names for spectral lines classification.

Answer 7

s = sharp

p = principle

d = diffuse

f = fundamental

Answer 8

subshells

Answer 9

faltu