Orbital Notation and Electron configuration are very similar. They tell how many electrons are in an atom or an isotope. They are counted in orbitals. There are 4 orbitals; the s, p, d, and f. The s is round shaped and holds 2 electrons, the p is dumbbell shaped and holds 6 electrons. The d and f are complex shaped and hold 10 and 14 electrons respectively. The following is an example of each type of naming:
K19= 1s2,2s2,2p6,3s2,3p64s1
1s-2s--2p--3s--3p--4s
all the orbitals have an x through them except 4s that has one stroke