Which element has the electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1?

This question is asking which element has a certain way of arranging its electrons, like how you arrange your toys in different boxes.

Imagine each electron is a toy, and the atom is a big toy box with numbered shelves. The numbers tell us which shelf (or energy level) the electrons are on, and the letters show which part of the shelf they're sitting on, like different sections for different kinds of toys.

The electron configuration 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹ means:

• The first shelf (1s) has 2 electrons.
• The second shelf (2s) has 2 electrons, and its side section (2p) has 6 more.
• The third shelf (3s) has 2 electrons, and one of its sections (3p) has just 1 electron.

So the total number of electrons is 2 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 1 = 13.

In the periodic table, each element has a unique number of electrons, that's how we know which one it is. The element with 13 electrons is aluminum, like the foil you use to wrap your sandwiches!

So the answer is aluminum!