when potassium is allowed to burn in a gas jar of chlorine, in a fume cupboard, clouds of white smoke are produced. Write a word and balanced chemical equation for this reaction

I'm learning about the periodic tables and what each subject's configuration is. for example, hydrogen is 1s^1, but i don't understand how you get that. can someone me understand how to figure out how to figure this out? sorry if the question makes no sense, but it would really a lot if you could me understand! you so much if you can!