Help with electron configuration?

[breebreebran]

I don't understand it.
I was absent the day it was introduced so I'm behind.
I'm trying to learn from google but I can't figure it out.
I thought I understood but I guess not.
I picked a random element off the periodic table.
Gold.
I know that's sub level d
row 5
column 11
So I thought it was just 5D11
I looked up the electron configuration for it and I got
[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s1
Any guidance?
Because I'm clearly lost.

 

[PhysicsandSuch]

You happened to pick an element that has an exception to the rules->bad break! The wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_configuration has a fairly good explanation as to what order to write the shells and how many electrons can fit in each.

Finally, in case you were confused, the { [Xe] "other stuff" } notation refers to the configuration of [Element] plus the additional electron configuration for the working element. Space saving technique.