What is an atom in an excited state

When an electron temporarily occupies an energy state greater than its ground state, it is in an excited state. An electron can become excited if it is given extra energy, such as if it absorbs a photon, or packet, of light, or collides with a nearby atom or particle.

Explanation:

Explanation:

An excited state means that (typically) the valence electron has moved from its ground state orbital (i.e. lowest available energy) to some other higher energy orbital.

So any electron configuration in which the last electron (again, the valence electron) is in a higher energy orbital, this element is said to be in an excited state.

Hope this helped :)

it about 600 mph from what i calculated