What does ground state mean? [ENDORSED]

[Mario Reyes 1C]

From what I know ground state means the electron configuration follows the Pauli Exclusion Principle and the Hunds Rule. Is there anything else to this?

[Chem_Mod]

It means the lowest energy.
Atoms and molecules, if left alone, are in their ground state (lowest energy). Therefore, as I discussed several times in class, we can figure out the electron configuration without needing to memorize them.

[105012653 1F]

It means the lowest energy.
Atoms and molecules, if left alone, are in their ground state (lowest energy). Therefore, as I discussed several times in class, we can figure out the electron configuration without needing to memorize them.

By extension, how would the electron configuration be for excited states? I'm confused on the difference between the two.

[304984981]

ground state means a normal performance of an atom, which means the atom itself is not excited by external force.
Just think about water for example, under normal conditions, it's "ground state" is liquid. But if you increase the temperature to boil it, it get "excited" and turns into gas.
Hope it helps

[Sophie Roberts 1E]

Ground state means that the atom is not ready to bond with another atom, as it would be if it were in the excited state. Therefore, for the electron configuration for atom in the ground state, if possible, all of the electrons would be paired. On the other hand, for the excited state, there would be unpaired electrons, so the atom is ready to bond with other atoms.