1. Electron Configuration:
* Carbon has an atomic number of 6, meaning it has 6 electrons.
* The electron configuration of carbon is 1s² 2s² 2p².
2. Hund's Rule:
* Hund's Rule states that electrons will individually occupy each orbital within a subshell before doubling up in any one orbital.
3. Applying Hund's Rule:
* The 2p subshell has three orbitals (2px, 2py, 2pz).
* Carbon has two electrons in the 2p subshell.
* According to Hund's Rule, these two electrons will occupy separate 2p orbitals, leaving one 2p orbital empty.
4. Unpaired Electrons:
* Since one 2p orbital remains empty, atomic carbon has two unpaired electrons.
Therefore, atomic carbon has two unpaired electrons.
