How can you determine charge of an atom ‘positive, negative, or neutral.’

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!

What is the mass of oxygen gas is consumed in a reaction that produces 4.60mol so2

Suppose that some of the compound spilled out of the crucible after it was heated. would that cause the percent by mass of water in the compound determined by the experiment to be too low, too high, or unchanged? briefly explain your answer.