S and P electrons

[apurva-3E]

Why do p electrons have a higher energy than s electrons?

[Benjamin Chen 1H]

p state electrons are usually farther out than s state electrons.
You can interpret this as electrons closer to the nucleus are more stable (having less energy) while being farther away from the nucleus means less stable (having more energy).

[Samuel Flores 1E]

Hello! I'll add that because the p orbitals are further away from the nucleus, this increases the electrostatic potential energy between the positively-charged nucleus and the negatively-charged electron. Remember that the PE increases as the distance between the electron and nucleus increases, so because the p orbital is further away from the nucleus, this will result in a larger energy of the electron.

Hope this helps!

[Sydney Jensen 3L]

The farther away the electrons are from the nucleus, the higher amount of energy is needed in order to keep the electrons connected. Each distance from the nucleus is another energy level, and the farther away an electron is, the higher the energy level is.

[Rose_Malki_3G]

Because they are further from the nucleus and the further away an electron is, the more energized it is

[Carolina Gomez 2G]

P electrons have a higher energy than S electrons because they experience shielding. Since P electrons are in an energy level above S electrons, they experience shielding from the nucleus from the S electrons and therefore have higher energy.

[Joshua Chung 2D]

Since p-electrons are further away from the nucleus of the atom, they have higher energy, as is required to keep them on the atom.

[Juliana Rosales 1H]

Its because p electrons are farther from the nucleus and thus have more energy while the other one is closer and so it has less.

[Sarah Huang 3A]

Why do p electrons have a higher energy than s electrons?

Hi! I have one way to explain it, but it takes a little bit of imagination!

So, if you remember from the previous lectures where we discussed equations with Rydberg's constant and energy levels, we drew the diagrams where n = 1 (1s), n = 2 (2s + 2p), n = 3 (3s, 3p, 3d) , and etc... Let's take a look at n = 2, where it is the average of the subshell 2s and 2p. Remember that when we draw it, 2p is higher than 2s, and the farther away a level is from n = 1, the greater the energy it has. Since 2p is higher, as well as the rest of the p electrons to the s electrons, they have a greater energy to each respective level because of the greater distance.

I hope that helps!

[LovepreetSran_3H]

P electrons are farther from the nucleus, which causes them to have higher energy.

[Diana Aguilar 3H]

P electrons have a higher energy than s electrons because they are farther away from the nucleus. The farther away the electron is from the nucleus means it will have higher energy and the closer the elctron is to the nucleus means it will have lower energy.

[Jose Miguel Conste 3H]

because p is farther away from the nucleus (therefore farther away from protons), you need more energy to keep the electrons from leaving the atom, that's how I think of it

[Jonathan Malau 1F]

S orbitals are more closer to the nucleus than p orbitals. The s electron experiences a higher nuclear charge and drops to lower energy; because the p orbital is more farther away from the nucleus, it requires more energy to maintain.

[Shivani Kapur 2J]

Because the p-orbitals are further away from the nucleus, it takes more energy to keep the electron while the s-orbitals are closer to the nucleus and see a stronger attraction to it therefore less energy is needed.

[Queena Chu 3E]

P electrons have higher energy than S electrons because they are farther from the nucleus. This means they experience shielding (by the S electrons) from the nucleus.