Aufbau Principle

Definition

The Aufbau Principle states that electrons occupy the lowest energy levels first before moving on to higher energy levels.

Related terms

Ground State: This refers to the lowest energy state of an atom or other particle. In our concert analogy, it would be those front row seats!

Excited State: This is when an electron absorbs enough energy to move from its normal state into a higher-energy orbital - kind of like getting bumped up from regular seating at a concert into VIP!

Electron Configuration:

This describes how electrons are distributed among atomic orbitals - think about it as who sits where during our concert.