hund's rule

Question

The correct electronic configuration of nitrogen (Z = 7) in its ground state, following Hund's rule, is:

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**Hund's Rule of Maximum Multiplicity** states that for degenerate orbitals (orbitals with same energy like $p_x, p_y, p_z$), pairing of electrons does not occur until each orbital is singly occupied.
- Nitrogen ($Z=7$) as per Aufbau: $1s^2 2s^2 2p^3$
- For the $2p$ subshell, the 3 electrons are placed in $2p_x, 2p_y$, and $2p_z$ singly instead of pairing up.
- This configuration $(\uparrow, \uparrow, \uparrow)$ minimizes electron-electron repulsion and maximizes exchange energy stability.

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hund's rule

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