Which of the following represents outermost shell electronic configuration of halogens

Options

A. `s^(2)p^(3)`
B. `s^(2)p^(6)`
C. `s^(2)p^(4)`
D. `s^(2)p^(5)`

Answer

To determine the outermost shell electronic configuration of halogens, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the Halogens
The halogens are a group of elements in Group 17 of the periodic table. The common halogens include:
- Fluorine (F)
- Chlorine (Cl)
- Bromine (Br)
- Iodine (I)
- Astatine (At)

### Step 2: Determine the Atomic Numbers
Next, we need to know the atomic numbers of these halogens:
- Fluorine (F) - Atomic number 9
- Chlorine (Cl) - Atomic number 17
- Bromine (Br) - Atomic number 35
- Iodine (I) - Atomic number 53
- Astatine (At) - Atomic number 85

### Step 3: Write the Electronic Configurations
Now, we will write the electronic configurations for each halogen:
1. **Fluorine (F)**:
- Atomic number 9: Configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁵
2. **Chlorine (Cl)**:
- Atomic number 17: Configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁵
3. **Bromine (Br)**:
- Atomic number 35: Configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁵
4. **Iodine (I)**:
- Atomic number 53: Configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁵
5. **Astatine (At)**:
- Atomic number 85: Configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6p⁵

### Step 4: Identify the Outermost Shell Configuration
The outermost shell electronic configuration for each halogen can be summarized as follows:
- **Fluorine**: 2s² 2p⁵ (Outermost shell: n=2)
- **Chlorine**: 3s² 3p⁵ (Outermost shell: n=3)
- **Bromine**: 4s² 4p⁵ (Outermost shell: n=4)
- **Iodine**: 5s² 5p⁵ (Outermost shell: n=5)
- **Astatine**: 6s² 6p⁵ (Outermost shell: n=6)

### Step 5: Conclusion
From the above configurations, we can conclude that the outermost shell electronic configuration for all halogens is characterized by:
- **ns² np⁵** (where n is the principal quantum number corresponding to the period of the element).

Therefore, the correct answer that represents the outermost shell electronic configuration of halogens is **ns² np⁵**.