If electrons did not have intrinsic angular momentum (spin) but still obeyed the Pauli exclusion principle the states occupied by electrons in the ground state of helium would be:
A) (n = 1, ); (n = 1, )
B) (n = 1, ); (n = 1, )
C) (n = 1, ); (n = 2, )
D) (n = 2, ); (n = 2, )
E) (n = 2, ); (n = 2, )

Question

If electrons did not have intrinsic angular momentum (spin) but still obeyed the Pauli exclusion principle the states occupied by electrons in the ground state of helium would be:
A) (n = 1, ); (n = 1, ) 
B) (n = 1, ); (n = 1, ) 
C) (n = 1, ); (n = 2, ) 
D) (n = 2, ); (n = 2, ) 
E) (n = 2, ); (n = 2, )

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The ground state of helium has two electrons, which means that each energy level up to n=2 can be filled once. Without spin, each energy level can hold two electrons with opposite spin, which means that the ground state of helium would have one electron in the n=1 level and one electron in the n=2 level. Therefore, choice C is the correct answer with the ground state configuration of (n=1, 11eaafb7_ffda_16f6_a7a5_2f460cf1f920_TB3150_11); (n=2, 11eaafb7_ffda_16f7_a7a5_39108734288d_TB3150_11).

If Electrons Did Not Have Intrinsic Angular Momentum (Spin) but Still