# Electron question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electron-question/49535>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 11, 2001, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electron-question/49535 "2001-01-11T16:19:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electron-question/49535/21 "2001-01-14T22:03:53Z")

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That is an excellent site you referenced, **Giraffe**. I was going to add a note about exceptions to the aufbau order, but this same site notes this as well farther down.

I would bring to **Bear\_Nenno’s** attention that as electrons fill higher energy levels, exceptions become more and more common because “the difference between the energies of adjacent orbitals is small enough that it becomes much easier to transfer an electron from one orbital to another.”

**Bear\_Nenno** wrote:

> [@](#):
>
> Can you believe that none of the teachers at the school knew this? I guess they are all used to the old models.  
> We touched on the spdf thing a little in high school, but that was my sophomore year. I dont think we got into it much at all in my one year of college chemistry.

I’m quite surprised that none of the teachers at your school are familiar with this topic. It was taught to me in 10th grade chem, AP chem, and in more detail in college.

I’ve taught chemistry for 5 years at a military academy prep school, and we cover this topic in detail for all of our students, few of whom will be chem majors.

As far as being used to the “old models”, I would note that Schrödinger’s model has been in place since the **1930’s**. John Gribbin wrote in “In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat” that the previous model (the Bohr atom, introduced in 1913) was one which has greatly outlived its usefulness. (This is the model picturing the atom as a miniature solar system, with electrons orbiting the nucleus.) I realize it an easily visualized model, but it is INCORRECT! I find it quite annoying that the students I receive can graduate from high school thinking this is a valid and accurate picture of the atom.

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