---
title: "The orbital diagram below models the electron configuration of a neutral nitrogen atom.  Which of the following claims correctly identifies the electronic state of the atom and describes the energy change that occurs as the atom returns to its ground state?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119198/"
date_modified: "2026-08-19T12:39:20+00:00"
---

# The orbital diagram below models the electron configuration of a neutral nitrogen atom.

Which of the following claims correctly identifies the electronic state of the atom and describes the energy change that occurs as the atom returns to its ground state?

The orbital diagram below models the electron configuration of a neutral nitrogen atom.

Which of the following claims correctly identifies the electronic state of the atom and describes the energy change that occurs as the atom returns to its ground state?

![An orbital energy diagram for a neutral nitrogen atom displaying energy increasing along a vertical axis. At the lowest energy level, a horizontal line labeled 1s contains two vertical arrows pointing in opposite directions (one up, one down). Directly above it, a line labeled 2s contains two vertical arrows pointing in opposite directions (one up, one down). Above the 2s level, three horizontal lines side-by-side labeled 2p contain two arrows total: the leftmost line has one upward-pointing arrow, the middle line has one upward-pointing arrow, and the rightmost line is empty. Above the 2p level, a line labeled 3s contains one upward-pointing arrow. The labels 1s, 2s, 2p, and 3s are positioned to the left of their respective lines. No other particles, labels, text, or annotations appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787143160-7upE0I.jpg)

- **A.** It represents an excited state, and a photon is emitted as the electron moves from the \(3s\) orbital to a \(2p\) orbital.
- **B.** It represents an excited state, and a photon is absorbed as the electron moves from the \(3s\) orbital to a \(2p\) orbital.
- **C.** It represents the ground state, and a photon is emitted as the electron moves from the \(3s\) orbital to a \(2p\) orbital.
- **D.** It represents the ground state, and a photon is absorbed as the electron moves from a \(2p\) orbital to the \(3s\) orbital.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119198/*