Electronic Configuration

Electronic Configuration of Group 14

Every Group 14 element shares the outer valence configuration $ns^2np^2$. But, exactly as in Group 13, the inner core is not the same across the group — moving from carbon down to lead, heavier members pick up intervening filled d subshells (and, for lead, an f subshell) that the lighter members lack. This same growing core complexity is what disturbs the smooth trends in atomic si …