The arrangement of electrons in an atom of fluorine (F) can be described as follows:
Fluorine has an atomic number of 9, which means it has 9 electrons. These electrons are arranged in the following way:
- The first energy level (closest to the nucleus) contains 2 electrons.
- The second energy level contains the remaining 7 electrons.
This can be expressed using the electron configuration notation as:
\[ 1s^2 , 2s^2 , 2p^5 \]
In summary, the best statement to describe the arrangement of electrons in a fluorine atom is that it has 2 electrons in the first energy level and 7 electrons in the second energy level, making it a highly electronegative element with a tendency to gain one more electron to achieve a stable octet configuration.